Harry Potter and the Secret of the Blood
by chadsgirl824
Summary: YEAR FIVE Harry faces a new enemy in Voldemort's attempt to recapture him Written Prior to the release of OotP
1. Chapter 1

Harry turned over in his bed and sat up. There was something going on in the hallway. He could hear yelling coming just outside his door and it sounded like there were a lot more than just his aunt, uncle and cousin out there. As he moved to get out of bed there was a flash of green light that he could see through the crack under the door, followed quickly by one more. He started straight for the door then stopped and headed towards his trunk to get his wand.  
  
Just then Dudley burst into the room behind him, he was sweaty and crying and looking terrified. Harry could see figures behind him heading towards them.  
  
"Mum and dad...they're dead...save me Harry!!" he cried.  
  
Harry didn't have time to think before they were surrounded by what he could see where death eaters. Then from behind them came a cold laugh. They parted and let Voldemort come through.  
  
"Harry Potter." Voldemort's voice sent icy chills through Harry, "So glad I've finally found you. Dumbledore's magic may have been a match for me once, but no longer. Thanks to you I am more powerful than I ever could have imagined. I've come to repay you for this, see, I've gotten rid of these muggles you hate so much" he turned and looked at Dudley, "only one left to go."  
  
Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Dudley.  
  
"No don't!" Harry screamed. He looked around for something to use as he was now blocked from his trunk and still didn't have his wand. There was no time though so he ran at Voldemort as a last ditch effort. He never made it there, though; two of the death eaters grabbed him and held him in place.  
  
Voldemort turned and looked at Harry.  
  
"I thought you'd show your gratitude differently, I am doing what you've wanted to for a long time, aren't I?"  
  
"I never wanted the Dursley's dead!" shouted Harry, furious as what happened began really sinking in.  
  
"Maybe you've never admitted it to yourself but deep down you do feel this way, I know because I've been there. I know what it's like to grow up with others who don't appreciate you and treat you like dirt. Now have a seat and watch the rest of the show. It will be your turn soon."  
  
Voldemort raised his wand and a chair flew over and Harry was forced into it, then before he could move away ropes sprang around him and tied him to it. There was nothing he could do now except watch.  
  
Dudley let out a squeak from across the room, now beyond terror, as what he believed to be his last hope was gone. Voldemort turned and looked at him.  
  
"This is the end for you, muggle." He raised his wand "Avada Kedavra!"  
  
Dudley was thrown backwards and stopped moving.  
  
"Now admit that you enjoyed that, won't you?" said Voldemort with a horrid laugh. "I've just killed the last of your relatives. No one left but you, but that will change momentarily..."  
  
Harry had no feeling in him at all. He just looked at Voldemort and waited for what was coming. He saw a wand raise...  
  
"Avada Kedavra!"  
  
There was a flash of green light, and then...  
  
Harry hit the floor hard. He lay there for a moment and then a thought came to him, 'I'm not dead?' He looked around and saw that his room was empty except for Hedwig, and he noticed he was on the floor next to an overturned chair.  
  
"Was I sleepwalking? What just happened?" he said aloud.  
  
Suddenly a thought came to him, he ran out of the room and over to Dudley's room, he opened the door and peered inside. Dudley was sleeping as soundly as ever; he looked in on his aunt and uncle and found them doing the same.  
  
Harry couldn't understand it. He realized that everything he just saw couldn't have happened but it felt real, too real. He even woke up next to the same chair he had been tied to in his dream, on the floor, as if the spell had really hit him.  
  
He decided to do the only thing he could think of, write to Sirius.  
  
Harry went back to his room and wrote a letter explaining his whole dream to Sirius, and then where he was when he woke up and how everyone else was asleep as if nothing happened. He tied it to Hedwig's leg and she gave him an affectionate nip before she took off.  
  
At this point, sleep seemed out of the question so he decided to stay awake. He looked at all of the presents he had received from his friends two nights ago on his birthday and decided to look at the book Hermione had sent.  
  
Several hours later, he heard everyone starting to get up, so he closed the book and got dressed.  
  
He walked into the kitchen and looked around. None of the Dursley's appeared to have had even a bad dream; they all looked the same as they usually did. He went around to the stove to start making breakfast for them when Hedwig flew in the kitchen window.  
  
"GET THAT THING OUT OF MY KITCHEN!!" screamed Aunt Petunia.  
  
"Alright, alright," said Harry as he held out his arm for Hedwig and started upstairs.  
  
As soon as he was in his room he took the letter she had and opened it.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
I don't know what your dream means, it can't be good though. I've spoken to Professor Dumbledore and he thinks it would be good for you to leave the Dursley's for the rest of the summer. We have already contacted Arthur Weasley and he's agreed to let you stay there until school starts. I will be arriving to pick you up tonight.  
  
Sirius  
  
P.S. You didn't mention anything about your scar hurting. Let me know if it did when I see you tonight.  
  
Harry looked up at that last line. His scar hadn't hurt last night. What did it all mean? He decided he would think about that later as he had to pack for Sirius' arrival.  
  
Harry finished packing and went downstairs to let everyone know he was leaving. When he walked into the kitchen he was greeted by icy stares from his aunt and uncle, Dudley was busy making himself fatter.  
  
"Did you forget something?" asked Uncle Vernon coldly.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Harry.  
  
"Breakfast, sound familiar? You were not excused before I just wanted that thing out of my kitchen. Highly unsanitary letting an animal free where you eat" stated Aunt Petunia.  
  
"But I..."started Harry.  
  
"NO BUTS!!" yelled Uncle Vernon "You are going upstairs to your room and if you'll be lucky if I let you out before next week."  
  
"No I'm not! I'm..." Harry began again.  
  
Uncle Vernon grabbed a handful of Harry's hair and began dragging him upstairs. This was getting harder to do, as Harry wasn't as small as he used to be, but he was still small for a 15 year old and very much out- weighed by his uncle.  
  
Paying no attention to Harry's protests he threw him into the room and slammed the door behind him.  
  
Harry decided not to fight it. Sirius and Dumbledore wanted him out of this house and ultimately; there would be nothing the Dursley's could do to stop them. He sat down on his bed and waited.  
  
Several hours later, Harry heard something outside his window. He went over and looked out, but no one was there. He didn't know why, but something about this felt wrong, he felt like he was being watched. He stayed at the window for a few more minutes, staring into the darkness and feeling very tense.  
  
Suddenly, he heard a crash from downstairs that made him jump a foot. His aunt and uncle were screaming again, and he could hear the pounding of Dudley's feet coming up the stairs, probably so he could go hide in his room.  
  
Harry wanted to go see what happened but his door was locked so he paced anxiously, hoping all the commotion was from Sirius' arrival.  
  
Within minutes his question was answered, he turned around for another lap when he saw Sirius behind him; he had apparated into his room.  
  
"Hello Harry! All packed?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Since I got your letter. How will we get out though?"  
  
"Not a problem. I came here using floo powder and that's how we'll get back. Arthur Weasley is downstairs trying to calm your relatives down..." he said glancing towards the door and the shouting from beyond it.  
  
Sirius walked to the door and raised his wand.  
  
"Alohamora"  
  
The lock opened and they both carried Harry's things downstairs. The Dursley's were furious, but when Sirius came downstairs they went silent. Whatever little courage they might have mustered to talk to Mr. Weasley definitely faded when it came to standing up against someone they thought was a murderer.  
  
"Ready Harry?" asked Mr. Weasley.  
  
"Very ready."  
  
"Alright then," he turned to the Dursley's, "it was...err...lovely to see you again. Maybe I'll see you again next year."  
  
"Goodbye" Harry said, and then almost as an afterthought, "be careful."  
  
Harry, Sirius and Mr. Weasley took turns stepping into the fireplace and calling out 'The Burrow', leaving the Dursley's to stare.  
  
When they got to the Burrow, the whole Weasley family, along with Hermione was there waiting for them.  
  
"Harry!" cried Mrs. Weasley, "Thank goodness you're okay! You poor dear, come in, come in, I'll make some tea!"  
  
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley, I'm alright, really. It was just a dream."  
  
"It was more than just a dream," said Sirius, "we just have to figure out what it means. Why don't you bring your things upstairs? Dumbledore will be here soon and I think we should wait to talk about anything until he arrives, rather than have to explain it all twice."  
  
"Okay."  
  
So Harry started to carry his things upstairs. Hermione, Ron and Ginny all helped and when they were all in Ron's room they shut the door.  
  
"Will you tell us what happened?" asked Ron.  
  
"Nothing happened," said Harry, "but I'll tell you about my dream."  
  
So he did. He told them every thing that happened, how the Dursley's were killed, how Vol-, you-know-who used the killing curse on him, how he woke up just as it happened in the same chair he was tied to in the dream, and how his scar never hurt the whole time.  
  
"That's not a dream, that's a nightmare," said Ginny.  
  
"Whatever it is I still don't know what it means. I must have been sleepwalking but why did I wake up as if I was still in the dream? I hope Dumbledore gets here soon."  
  
"Don't worry Harry, Dumbledore'll know what to do! You're as safe as you're going to get right now and he'll figure this all out!" said Hermione with total confidence.  
  
Just they heard Mrs. Weasley call that Dumbledore had arrived and could they please come greet him.  
  
The four of them got up and went downstairs.  
  
Dumbledore was sitting down at the table with Sirius and Mr. Weasley when they got downstairs.  
  
"Hello everyone," he said to them, "hello Harry, please come sit with us. We need you to explain what happened in your dream as best you can."  
  
Ron, Hermione and Ginny went into the next room to sit down. Harry sat down at the table and began explaining the dream again. When he finished no one said anything for a minute. Then Sirius asked him again about his scar.  
  
"Are you positive you didn't feel anything, anything at all?"  
  
"Believe me, if you knew what I felt when my scar starts hurting you'd understand how I wouldn't be able to miss it if it did."  
  
"It wasn't Voldemort who attacked Harry," said Dumbledore.  
  
"What? Who else could it have been?" asked Sirius.  
  
"That is what we will have to find out. Whoever it was definitely did it for Voldemort but he isn't the one who actually performed this spell, he may not even have known it was being done. One of his followers trying to get back into good standing with him perhaps." Dumbledore replied.  
  
Harry thought of something else that had happened.  
  
"Just before Sirius arrived I heard someone outside my window. I looked and couldn't see anyone but it was very dark. I had a strong feeling that I was being watched."  
  
"Perhaps the person who did this to you was right there when it happened. I have to go, there are a few things I need to do to find who is behind this attack. Harry please stay close to Sirius and the Weasleys - don't go off on your own," said Dumbledore.  
  
"I promise professor," said Harry.  
  
With that Dumbledore said good night to everyone and dissaparated.  
  
Back in Ron's room, Harry told everyone what was said at the meeting. No one had any explanation for who it could be. Hermione decided to start looking through her books to see if she could find anything on what was used to cause Harry's dream. Ginny left to go to her room and Harry and Ron started a game of chess. They played a few games and Harry actually won once. As it got later, and they became more tired, Hermione went off the Ginny's room and everyone went to sleep.  
  
Sometime later in the middle of the night, Harry felt himself being shaken awake.  
  
"Harry! Get up, there's something I need to tell you!"  
  
"Hermione?" he asked groggily, "What is it?"  
  
"I've found something, something that could cause what happened to you. I was looking through all of my books and I couldn't find anything in the form of a curse or spell to cause this. What I did find was a potion, called 'Waking Nightmare,' that fits the description. It causes the person who drinks it to have nightmare and actually live it out while they are still awake. That would explain why you weren't in your bed when you woke and why it felt so real, you were awake and actually talking to Dudley and you-know-who because you believed they were standing right there."  
  
"A potion? How could I have been given a potion? I was at the Dursley's and didn't see anyone or anything strange, plus I think I would know if I was drinking a nasty potion, everyone of those things I've ever come across seems vile," Harry said.  
  
"Well I found something on that as well, if it is mixed with another substance, it takes on that substances taste. It could have been put in anything that you drank and you'd never know it!" Hermione replied.  
  
"Fine so then how? I didn't have any drinks that didn't come out of the Dursley's refrigerator, and if I drank it then they probably would have too but nothing happened to them."  
  
"I don't know how Harry, I just feel that it's very likely this is what caused what happened to you."  
  
They were startled then when Ron said:  
  
"Do you think Snape could have done it, he is after all, the potions master?"  
  
"Ron! Plenty of dark wizards, and good ones as well, can make potions. I don't like Snape either but we can't go around accusing him because of that!"  
  
"Right, we need proof!" said Ron.  
  
"If there is any!" shot back Hermione.  
  
"It could have been any of them," interrupted Harry.  
  
"Any of who?"  
  
"The death eaters. Dumbledore said that whomever it was probably wanted to get back into Vol- you-know-who's good graces. Well, every death eater, except Barty Crouch, needed to do that. He wasn't really happy with any of them when they all came back to him last..." he faded off at the end thinking about that horrible day.  
  
"Well, I still think it's Snape," mumbled Ron.  
  
Hermione heaved a sigh and said she had better get back to Ginny's room as it was now exceptionally late. They all said goodnight and she left.  
  
Harry sat up for a long time thinking about this new information, before finally drifting off to sleep.  
  
For the rest of the summer, Harry stayed with the Weasleys. Sirius never let Harry out of his sight when they were outside and was constantly checking on him inside. It began to seem a bit much to Harry and he was very much looking forward to going back to Hogwart's.  
  
They were all coming back in from de-gnoming the yard when Mrs. Weasley said they would be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow for school supplies.  
  
Everyone got up early the next day and went downstairs to the fireplace. Once again they would be using floo powder for traveling. They took turns stepping in, calling out "Diagon Alley," and being whisked through the floo network.  
  
They headed for Gringott's first, to replenish their funds, and began making the rounds to buy supplies, books, ingredients, etc... When they finally decided it was time for a break, they went to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor for some sundaes. As they were about finished, Fred and George came over to their table.  
  
"Ron," said Fred, "we need you to come with us to Madam Malkin's."  
  
"Yeah, there's something there you'll like," added George.  
  
"What is it?" asked Ron warily, he was used to Fred and George and there very unique sense of humor.  
  
"It isn't a joke, promise. Just come with us, okay?"  
  
"Alright, alright. I'm coming."  
  
The three of them got up and started to follow the twins. Harry knew what this was all about. The twins were getting Ron new dress robes as they promised Harry they would. Since he knew Ron would never accept such a gift from him, he had found another way to help his friend.  
  
As they were at the door, Harry looked over his shoulder and did a quick double take. Cho Chang was just a little ways up the street looking in one of the store windows.  
  
"Guys I'll be back in a few minutes. There's someone I want to talk to."  
  
"But Harry, you're not going to do any-" Hermione began.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not leaving Diagon Alley or going somewhere I shouldn't. I'm just going a few feet that way and I'll be right back."  
  
Hermione gave him a disapproving stare but nodded and followed Ron and the Twins into the store.  
  
Harry turned back towards Cho. She had moved on and was walking further away from him so he set off after her. He wasn't really sure what he was going to say, or if she would even want to talk to him, but he was overcome with the urge to try. The alley became very crowded as he neared her; he had to press up against the wall to one of the stores to try to squeeze through. He was just about to call out to Cho when someone grabbed him from behind. He tried to yell but the person had their hand over his mouth and their other arm around him pinning his arms to his side. He was being dragged out of site down a dark alley which he recognized right away.  
  
Knockturn Alley.  
  
Harry struggled against his captor to no avail. He was dragged into a very old, small, dark, abandoned building before the person released him. He spun around to see who it was.  
  
"Snape!" cried Harry.  
  
Harry shoved his hands into his pockets.  
  
"Don't bother, Potter. I have it right here."  
  
He looked up to see Snape holding his wand and smirking.  
  
"You...why? I knew Dumbledore shouldn't have trusted you! I bet you've been waiting for this day for months, no years! You gave me that potion a few weeks ago too, didn't you?"  
  
"You knew it was a potion? I'll bet Miss Granger let you in on that didn't she? She never does know when to shut up," Snape said.  
  
"So you admit it!" Harry exclaimed looking around for another way out. Snape was standing in front of the only door, and there were no windows that he could see.  
  
"Are you going to kill me? Show Voldemort that you are truly back at his side? I guess you want to take Barty Crouch's place, don't you?"  
  
"I didn't bring you here to kill you, I brought you here to warn you." Snape replied with a bit of disgust.  
  
"Warn me? Oh yeah, that was obvious! You grab me from behind, drag me here, steal my wand, why didn't I guess that you wanted to warn me!?! Why couldn't you just talk to me in Diagon Alley?"  
  
"If I had called to you from a dark alley and asked you to come over to me alone to have a chat would you have done so?"  
  
Harry just looked at him.  
  
"I didn't think so. I can't be seen there as many of the other death eater's sons and daughters attend Hogwart's and their parents will go with them to get their things. If I was seen by one of them having a pleasant chat with you it might have blown everything I've worked for the past few months to convince Voldemort I'm on his side."  
  
"Alright, so why did you give me that potion and what did you want to warn me about?  
  
"I gave you the potion because I had to do something to show I was willing to harm you. It was really the only way I could convince Voldemort I was on his side. For the most part the death eaters believe me, but I think Voldemort is still suspicious. He probably thinks I could have done worse to you if I had been trying harder."  
  
"How did you get it to me? If you had to put it into something I drank I don't see how you could have done it," Harry said.  
  
"I didn't put it into anything you drank, your cousin did. I couldn't go to your house, because then Voldemort would know where you live, but I was able to follow your relatives when they left you alone, as they did so often. When they were at a carnival, I made it seem as if I were a muggle selling a drink that was supposed to turn your tongue bright yellow and wear off some hours later, your shorter yet abnormally large relative seemed very eager to buy some, he kept saying something about an overgrown tongue and payback. I knew that he disliked you so much that he would put it in whatever you were drinking and obviously I was right."  
  
Harry laughed to himself picturing Snape pretending to be a muggle street seller. He wished he had been able to see that.  
  
"So you did all that to make Voldemort trust in you?"  
  
"Yes, and it has worked for the time being. But I need to warn you that he has a much bigger plan in store for you than giving you nightmares. I don't know every detail yet but I do know that something is wrong with the spell that brought him back. I don't know if it was Pettigrew's fault or something else but there is definitely a problem. He is going to try to get you back because he needs you to fix it."  
  
"He needs more blood?"  
  
"As I said I don't know exactly what is wrong or exactly what he needs but I know that while he is not in immediate peril his time is limited, he is going to try very hard to get to you. Don't try any of your foolish antics this year, they could cost you your life."  
  
"I never tried anything last year and look where that got me..."Harry trailed off remembering the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.  
  
"You have to go now. This place isn't safe and your friends will be looking for you."  
  
Snape took off his cloak and gave it to Harry. He covered himself with it and they both walked back to the edge of Diagon Alley. As he handed back the cloak Snape handed him back his wand.  
  
"I had to be sure you would listen."  
  
"I know, and..." Harry started.  
  
They looked at each other for a moment.  
  
"Thank you, for the warning."  
  
Snape looked at Harry and then turned on his heel. He stalked back down Knockturn Alley and didn't look back.  
  
As Harry made his way back he thought about what had just happened. Why had Snape warned him like that? Why didn't he just go to Dumbledore rather than scare the life out of him by dragging him down that alley? He didn't have much time to dwell on these thoughts though as he heard someone yell his name.  
  
"Harry!! Where have you been!"  
  
"We've been so worried!"  
  
"You said you were going to be right back!"  
  
The Weasleys all ran over to him with Hermione, they all looked a bit shaken and Mrs. Weasley looked ready to cry.  
  
"I'll tell you all what happened, but not here. It's not safe to say anything here."  
  
They looked at him a bit strangely and he just stared back.  
  
"Alright then, we best get a move on now," said Mr. Weasley.  
  
Back at the burrow, they all sat around in the den and Sirius joined them when they told him Harry was missing for a while, to hear the story.  
  
Once he finished, Sirius stood up.  
  
"That shouldn't have happened! I can't believe he would do that! Taking you down that horrible place, putting you in more danger than necessary when he could have just contacted Dumbledore!"  
  
"Maybe," Hermione spoke up timidly, looking anxiously at Sirius who was furious, "maybe he couldn't reach Dumbledore. It's possible that he can't get any word out if You-know-who is really suspicious of him."  
  
"Yes and he did have a good reason for not going into Diagon Alley," Ron said quickly.  
  
Harry and Hermione spun to look at Ron.  
  
"What?" he asked  
  
"You just took Snape's side," said Harry.  
  
"Well don't expect it to happen too often, but he did have a point. There were Slytherins all over today, and a lot of the people you told us about were from that house."  
  
"So I guess it was Snape who you heard outside your window the day Sirius came to get you," said Hermione.  
  
"No, it couldn't have been, he said he couldn't come near my house because Voldemort would know where I lived then," said Harry  
  
All of the Weasleys and Hermione cringed when they heard the name.  
  
"Who could it have been then?"  
  
"I'm guessing that we'll find out, if anyone was there at all. I was a little nervous after that dream."  
  
"Well we can't dismiss it as nervousness," said Sirius, "and you can't go anywhere by yourself. If what Snape says is true than there are very few places you will be safe. I'm willing to bet that no matter how much time Voldemort actually has, he'll want to get his hands on you as soon as possible. Never was one for putting things off."  
  
" I think it's time for everyone to get to bed," said Mrs. Weasley "it's been a long day and you have to be up very early to catch the Hogwart's Express tomorrow."  
  
Everyone agreed. Sirius said he would send word to Dumbledore right away. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins all headed upstairs. No one felt incredibly tired after the day's excitement except Harry. He said goodnight to all of them, got changed and got into bed. He was almost asleep when he heard Ron call his name.  
  
"Are you awake Harry?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I was just thinking about something Snape said to you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, he said that the potion he gave you made You-know-who trust him for the time being, right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"Well, what happens if he gets suspicious of Snape again? Do you think he would hurt you? I mean, if it came down to him killing you, or You-know- who killing him, what do you think he would do?"  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Me either, but I hope we don't have to find out..."  
  
Harry didn't know how to respond so he just said goodnight again and rolled over. He didn't want to think about it right now, there was nothing that could come from worrying.  
  
He was asleep a few moments later. 


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning was a bit hectic. Everyone was rushing about trying to get ready. Harry and Hermione were the only ones who didn't need to do this as they had been living out of their trunks for the past few weeks. This year they would be getting ministry cars again, what with Voldemort back and all, the ministry felt extra protection was necessary for Harry.  
  
When they arrived at King's Cross they got carts, balanced all their things on them and headed for platforms 9 and 10. They took the barrier in pairs to get through to platform 9 ¾ and started looking for an open carriage. Harry, Ron and Hermione took the farthest one back, Fred and George found Lee Jordan and some other friends to sit with, and Ginny decided to sit with some of the 4th year kids. Sirius was going to get there separately as he didn't want to be seen on the trip, nor spend the whole trip as a dog.  
  
They spent the first part of the trip talking about what spells they hoped to learn and who the DADA teacher was going to be. Hermione couldn't wait to get back to her Arithmancy classes. Harry couldn't wait to play quidditch. He hoped it wouldn't be called off this year; it was the one thing he truly loved and made him feel better than anything.  
  
After the trolley lady passed and they were filled up with sweets, the door to their carriage opened. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle walked in looking very smug.  
  
"I'm surprised you came back Potter, after the way last year ended for you. I would think you would have the decency not to out of respect for Cedric, it being your fault he's dead and all," Malfoy sneered.  
  
Before Harry could say anything Hermione was out of her seat.  
  
"How dare you! You have no idea what you're talking about. I think you better leave now if you know what's good for you," she said pulling out her wand.  
  
"You think I'm afraid of you, mudblood?" Malfoy asked.  
  
"I think you'd better be afraid of all of us," said Ron as he and Harry got up and stood with Hermione. All three of them had their wands out and pointed at their uninvited guests.  
  
"We didn't come to stay anyway," Malfoy said as the three of them backed out into the corridor. They were remembering the train ride home at the end of last year and how long it took for the effects of the hexes and curses to fade. They were all out of the cabin and Harry moved to shut the door when Malfoy called to him.  
  
"Have any good dreams this summer, Potter?"  
  
Then he was off down the corridor leaving Harry stunned.  
  
"How would he know?" he asked aloud.  
  
"Well he is Lucius' son," began Hermione "and he's a death eater, right?"  
  
"I guess I just didn't think that Mr. Malfoy wouldn't want his son advertising this fact just yet." Harry replied.  
  
"Maybe Mr. Malfoy was the person outside your window, Harry!" Ron exclaimed.  
  
"But that would mean Voldemort knows where I live! How could he find out! I need to warn the Dursley's..." Harry trailed off, wondering how to do this.  
  
"I'll just have to send Hedwig, they won't like it but I can't just not try."  
  
"Before you do that, talk to Dumbledore, Harry. He might have a better idea by now of what's going on. He said he had to look into some things last time you spoke with him, right? Let's see what he's found first," Hermione said  
  
"I guess you're right, Hermione."  
  
The rest of the trip was uneventful and soon they arrived at Hogwart's.  
  
When they got off the train they heard someone calling:  
  
"First years students, line up over here please!"  
  
"That's not Hagrid!" said Harry as they all turned to look  
  
"Dumbledore!" cried Ron, "where's Hagrid?"  
  
"Probably still out trying to get the support of all the giants," said Hermione matter-of-factly.  
  
Dumbledore saw them staring and nodded, he collected all the first-years and headed towards the boats. Harry, Ron and Hermione headed for the horse- less carriages. They found an empty one and climbed in, a moment later they heard someone ask:  
  
"Is the last seat taken?"  
  
"No it's n-" Harry began and then stopped abruptly.  
  
Cho Chang was looking in at them.  
  
"No it isn't," Hermione said for him, "would you like to join us?"  
  
"Thank you," she said as she stepped in. She took the empty seat next to Harry.  
  
Harry was very still. He couldn't think of anything to say so he blurted out:  
  
"I saw you in Diagon Alley yesterday."  
  
"Excuse me?" Cho replied.  
  
"Yesterday. I was there to get my school supplies and I saw you there. I tried to catch up to you to say hi but...I...er...got sidetracked," Harry said.  
  
"No, you couldn't have seen me there," Cho started, "I got all of my supplies over a week ago. I wasn't in Diagon Alley yesterday."  
  
Harry didn't know what to say. He knew, he KNEW, that he had seen Cho. He couldn't see why she would lie about it. Everyone was looking at him so he just said:  
  
"Must've been someone else..."  
  
Hermione and Ron were eyeing Cho. They hadn't really seen her as they were already into Madam Malkin's when Harry spotted her but they knew that he would be able to recognize if it weren't her.  
  
The rest of the ride was a bit awkward, as no one knew what to say. They rode in silence until the carriages stopped and everyone got off.  
  
"Bye!" Cho called as she walked off to join some friends, "I hope to talk to you later!"  
  
"I'll bet she does..." Hermione said with a bit of contempt in her voice as they started walking.  
  
"What do you..." Harry started, "you don't think she was lying, do you?"  
  
"You tell me. Did you see her? Is there any chance it could have been someone else?"  
  
Harry thought for a moment. He remembered when he turned and saw her how he was so sure it was her. And right before Snape grabbed him he had definitely been close enough to be sure.  
  
"No. No chance it could have been someone else, not unless she has a twin," Harry replied.  
  
"Then she lied." Hermione said flatly.  
  
They were in the Great Hall now. Everyone took their seats and waited.  
  
Harry was torn. He didn't want to believe Cho would lie to him, couldn't think of a reason she would. He also couldn't see what other explanation there could be. Unless...  
  
"Maybe it was someone disguised as Cho!" Harry whispered urgently.  
  
"What?" Ron said, "Why?"  
  
"Well I don't know why, but it could be done...remember the Polyjuice Potion?"  
  
"Yes," said Hermione with a shiver. She had had a very bad experience the one time they had all drank that potion. "And I have an idea why, someone was trying to get you to follow them Harry. Someone who knew you liked Cho."  
  
"That means Snape saved you when he pulled you down that alley, good thing he didn't realize that or he'd never let you live it down," said Ron.  
  
"The only people who know I like Cho are you two, Ginny, Fred and George. Unless one of you decided to share the information then I don't know who it could have been."  
  
"Harry, anyone could have seen you ask her to the ball last year, and you do kind of stare off a little when you look at her. You don't need to be brilliant to put it together," Hermione said.  
  
They all stopped talking as the doors banged open and Professor McGonagall walked in with the first-years.  
  
They all watched as the first years were led to the front and sorted into their houses. When McGonagall was just a short way in to calling out the names, they heard her say:  
  
"Chang, Su."  
  
"Is that Cho's sister?" asked Ron.  
  
"They do look very much alike," said Hermione.  
  
They stopped talking when they heard the sorting hat call out:  
  
"Gryffindor!"  
  
"What!" said Harry, Ron and Hermione together. Luckily they were not heard, as the Gryffindor table was busy applauding for Su.  
  
Su came over to the table and sat down. The rest of the sorting went on as usual. When it was finished, Professor McGonagall took the stool and the sorting hat off to the side and Dumbledore stood up.  
  
"I'm sure you're all quite hungry after your long trip here, but first, a few announcements. As you know we had yet another opening for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, and I have been able to have one of your previous instructor's return. Professor Lupin."  
  
Harry was ecstatic! Lupin was returning, this was wonderful! They would once again be able to learn valuable defense spells. He, Ron and Hermione were the only ones who really cheered, however. Most of the students were whispering nervously to one another, they were afraid, as Lupin was a werewolf.  
  
"I know you've all heard about our dear professor being a werewolf and all, but fear not. His transformation is kept under control thanks to our Potions Master, Professor Snape."  
  
Harry was a little shocked to see Snape at the table. He hadn't really bothered to look at any of the instructors when they came in, as he was too busy discussing Cho with Ron and Hermione. He wanted to ask Dumbledore if he had heard from Sirius about Snape in Diagon Alley that day, but it would have to wait.  
  
"Our other vacancy, at least for the first part of the year, is for the Care of Magical Creatures position. May I present to you, Professor Arabella Figg.  
  
"It can't be!" Harry cried.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.  
  
"She's lived next door to me on Privet Drive since I can remember. The Dursley's would make me stay with her any time they went somewhere. She used to make me listen to her drone on about cats all the time. I can't believe she's a witch!"  
  
They stared at him for a moment and then the three of them began clapping with the rest of the students. Dumbledore then continued on with the rest of the announcements regarding the forest, the trick toys that weren't allowed and the list in Filch's office.  
  
"Now, enjoy the feast!"  
  
All the plates filled with heaps of all of their favorite foods, they ate till they were stuffed and still managed to polish off all of the dessert that appeared. When everything was done they all started to get up and head for their common rooms. Harry, Ron and Hermione stopped when they saw Lupin heading in there direction.  
  
"Remus!" Harry said with delight, "I can't believe you're here, this is wonderful!"  
  
"I'm glad to see you to, all of you, Harry I need to ask you to come with me before you go off to bed. Professor Dumbledore needs to speak with you and so do a few other people."  
  
"Alright, I'll see you later!" Harry said to Ron and Hermione as he walked away.  
  
He walked with Lupin all through the halls to Dumbledore's office.  
  
"Godric," Lupin said, and the wall slip open.  
  
"Godric? Why did he choose...?" Harry started. But he stopped when he saw who was in the office.  
  
"Hello Harry, please sit down," said Dumbledore with a smile.  
  
Harry nodded as he took a seat and looked around the room. Besides Dumbledore, Lupin and himself, there was Snape, McGonagall, Arabella Figg, Sirius and Cornelius Fudge, who was looking skeptically at Harry. He had expected Sirius but not everyone else.  
  
"I heard about you adventure in Diagon Alley," Dumbledore said as he looked back and forth from Harry to Snape, whom Sirius was glaring daggers at.  
  
"Yes sir, it was good of Professor Snape to warn me, but I expected he wouldn't be here. It seemed when we spoke that he was unable to find another way to reach anyone else," Harry said.  
  
"That was the situation yesterday," Dumbledore said, "however, there was a change in plans."  
  
"What do you mean? Whose plans?"  
  
"Voldemort's," came Snape's reply, "He wanted me to come back here so he had someone on the inside. I'm supposed to watch you."  
  
"I'm sure he wants you to do more than just watch him!" Sirius stated in a very icy tone. He was standing now, and shaking with fury. He obviously had no trust for Snape despite the fact the Dumbledore seemed to have nothing but trust for him. "What are you going to do when he tells you to hurt Harry? Or kidnap him or kill him? Will you be able to say no? Or will you give in like the coward you are?"  
  
Snape stared at Sirius with more hatred than he had ever shown towards Harry. He seemed beyond words at the moment but he started to stand.  
  
"Sirius, would you kindly sit down!" Dumbledore said, "You too Severus! We are not here to fight. I do not want to have to spend time watching you two so you won't go at each other. This is most certainly not the time!" he paused a moment and spoke again, slowly, "We have to concentrate all our effort into finding out Voldemort's plan and putting a stop to it."  
  
They both looked at each other with contempt but they sat down.  
  
"Thank you, now Severus, tell us what you know," said Dumbledore.  
  
"As I've said before, I know that something went wrong during Voldemort's rebirth. It doesn't seem like it was an error on Pettigrew's part from what I've been able to find out, but there was an error nonetheless. Voldemort needs Harry back to fix whatever the problem is. I only just found this out the day before yesterday and was unable to uncover more information as I was sent back here soon after."  
  
"We will have to find everything we can about that ritual. Severus obviously will not be able to obtain any more information while he is here. It is doubtful he will be told what's going on at all, except for when it's time to go for Mr. Potter," spoke up Professor McGonagall.  
  
"You may be right Minerva," said Dumbledore, "we can't rule out the possibility that Voldemort is suspicious of Severus." He turned and looked at Snape, "His show of trust for you may be just as much of an act as you are giving to him."  
  
Snape just nodded and stared at the floor, "We must find out soon. The only other thing I know is that his time is limited. He will not wait long to correct whatever error was made and he has followers everywhere. Some of the death eaters with students in this school will be using them as lookouts. Not only watching Harry, but anyone who he spends a lot of time with and me to make sure I will not betray them. They will look for anything that will help Voldemort achieve his goal."  
  
Harry sat back and tried to process all that was being said. All of the teachers were looking out for him but he was feeling more uneasy by the minute. He hadn't counted on one of the threats to him being on the inside, but in truth he really would have to keep an eye out for anyone following him or watching him. The one place he always felt safe now seemed tainted, and he still wasn't sure where Snape really stood, as he would never admit anything bad in front of Dumbledore.  
  
"Harry I think it's time you headed to your common room to get some sleep," Dumbledore's voice interrupted his thoughts, "I just needed you to be aware of who knows about this, and what the immediate threats are."  
  
"Okay," said Harry, feeling a little dazed. He said goodnight to all of them, went to the doorway and opened it. As he stepped into the hall he realized he never mentioned anything about Cho. He had wanted to talk Dumbledore and Sirius to see if they could offer help as to who the girl he saw actually was. He decided against it at this time as he realized he didn't want Snape to hear of it, he knew that Snape was not going to be any nicer to him in potions as he had to keep up appearances for Malfoy and the other death eaters' kids, telling him he might have saved Harry's life would give him a reason to act even more smug and arrogant. He would tell the others about it tomorrow, now he just needed sleep.  
  
He began walking back towards his common room, unaware that at that very moment, someone was watching him, very closely.  
  
Harry reached the common room and stopped at the painting of the fat lady. She asked for the password and he realized that he had no idea what it was because he left right after the feast with Lupin. He wasn't sure what to do, he had no idea how late it was if anyone would hear him if he tried to call to them. He doubted anyone would be taking any strolls if it were really late. He sighed and started heading back towards Dumbledore's office.  
  
Less than halfway there he heard someone coming down a corridor towards him. He recognized the high-pitched laughter right away, it was Peeves. He ducked down a side corridor quickly as he didn't want to go anywhere near Peeves, there were too many times that he had gotten in trouble because of the ghost's loud mouth and it certainly wasn't going to happen on his first night back. He would just wait for him to pass.  
  
Peeves stopped right near the entrance to the corridor Harry was hiding in. He apparently decided to start making lots of noise by lifting one of the paintings away from the wall, and letting it slam back against it. The painting had quite a few people in it that began screaming at Peeves to stop.  
  
It was now incredibly loud in the hallway and Harry knew that Filch would probably be by to see what all the commotion was. He decided he didn't want to be there for that, as Filch would find some way to give him detention for nothing. He started off down the corridor he was in to find another way around.  
  
After 15 minutes of wandering, Harry found that he was a bit lost. He tried to retrace his steps and was just becoming more confused so he sat down against a wall to think for a moment.  
  
It was utterly silent in the corridor. Harry would have even been happy to hear Peeves if it meant he could find his way out of here. He was just beginning to wonder if he should chance just spending the night here when he heard a noise. He jumped up and looked in the direction it came from, but there was nothing there. He stood there for a long time just staring; when he was just about to sit back down he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked harder and saw that one of the shadows on the wall was moving ever so slowly. He began to step backwards further down the corridor, keeping pace with the shadowy figure until it picked up speed.  
  
Harry didn't care if he was quiet anymore, he turned and ran. He had no idea where the corridor led but he didn't have a choice; no one knew where he was so no one could help him. When he looked behind him he almost tripped when he saw someone wearing a long black cloak catching up to him. He turned again and put on a burst of speed.  
  
He rounded a corner without looking and crashed right into something, as he scrambled to get up he realized it wasn't a something but a someone.  
  
"Sirius!" Harry yelled, "We have to move! There's someone chasing me..." Harry stopped when he glanced behind him and saw the corridor was empty.  
  
"There was someone chasing me..."  
  
"Did you see who it was?" Sirius asked, clearly looking distressed  
  
"No, they were wearing a black cloak which completely covered them. What are you doing here anyway? Umm...where is here?"  
  
"Here is near the Hufflepuff common room, and I am looking for you, we all are. Dumbledore realized you never received the password after you left and I went out to give it to you. When I couldn't find you, I alerted the others and we went looking for you."  
  
"I was actually on my way back to Dumbledore's office when I had to hide from Peeves. I didn't want detention which Filch would have given me if he found me anywhere near Peeves making trouble."  
  
"Detention is better than dead Harry. Come on, I'll take you back to your common room and tell the others I've found you. I need to speak to Dumbledore about whoever it is that was chasing you."  
  
"Sirius," Harry started as they were walking through the halls, "there's something else I need to tell you. It's about yesterday in Diagon Alley."  
  
"What is it Harry?" said Sirius with concern.  
  
"Remember how I said that before Snape grabbed me I was following Cho? Well on the way here tonight, Ron, Hermione and I were sitting with Cho in our carriage. I told her that I had seen her in Diagon Alley, but she said she hadn't been there for over a week. I have been thinking a lot about this and I am POSITIVE it was her!" Harry said quickly.  
  
Sirius was silent for a moment.  
  
"Well if you're positive it was her, could she be lying to you?" Sirius asked.  
  
"I don't see what reason she would have to lie, but I think it was someone pretending to be Cho, trying to get me to follow them. I know you can use Polyjuice Potion to look exactly like someone else so it is a possibility..." Harry trailed off  
  
"Maybe that someone was the person chasing you tonight," Sirius said more to himself than Harry. "Why didn't you say something...?" he started, "Oh," he said as he realized, "You didn't want to say anything in front of Snape. Well I wouldn't either, but I wish you'd told me before now, oh well you're okay so it doesn't really matter."  
  
They stopped talking then as they were in view of the painting of the fat lady and Dumbledore was standing in front of her. The other instructor's were standing nearby as well.  
  
"Sirius!! Thank goodness you've found him!" came Professor McGonagall's voice. "Where were you Harry?"  
  
"I'll explain what happened," said Sirius, "Harry needs some rest before classes tomorrow."  
  
"I agree," said Dumbledore. "I'll meet all of you back in my office."  
  
The instructors started away in that direction and Dumbledore turned to Harry.  
  
"The password is "Phoenix," Dumbledore said to Harry, "I will want to speak to you more tomorrow about this evening, but for now I will find out what I can from Sirius. This could be a very trying year for all of us, you especially. I need you to be cautious in every decision you make as you know it is not completely safe for you anywhere right now."  
  
They each said goodnight and Harry went through into the common room. He found Ron and Hermione asleep on the chairs near the fireplace. They had tried to wait up for him but it was just too late for them to stay awake. He went over to Ron first and shook him awake.  
  
"Ron," he said softly, "come upstairs, it's very late."  
  
Ron looked around groggily and slowly sat up. He looked around for a minute and then he looked up at Harry. Suddenly he remembered why he was there.  
  
"Where have you been?! Why would they keep you up so late? Is everything okay?" He started asking quickly. The noise he was making woke up Hermione and soon she was badgering Harry about his whereabouts as well.  
  
"Listen it is very late. I am okay and I promise I will explain everything I know tomorrow, but if I don't get some sleep then I'm going to start my first day of classes snoring. Please let's just go to sleep?" he pleaded with them.  
  
They agreed to wait and went upstairs to their rooms.  
  
Harry called good night to Ron as he crawled into his four-poster. He was asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.  
  
The next morning Harry found it very hard to get going. He felt as if he'd had an hour of sleep at most and literally had to drag himself down to the great hall for breakfast. Ron and Hermione were a little better off but still very tired.  
  
"Harry you promised to tell us about last night," Hermione said after they found seats.  
  
Harry, who was dozing off in his seat, jerked his head up when he heard his name.  
  
"Yes, umm...last night. Hermione, I'm not awake enough to think yet! Please give me a little more time. I'll tell you at lunch, please?"  
  
"Fine, but only because I don't want you to leave anything out, your so tired."  
  
"What do we have first?" Ron asked.  
  
"History of Magic," Hermione answered him.  
  
Ron groaned but Harry perked up a bit.  
  
"This makes you happy?" Ron asked incredulously.  
  
"Normally no, but Professor Binns won't care if I sleep through class." Harry said.  
  
"Harry! You can't sleep through class! You might miss something important!" Hermione admonished him.  
  
"Well, take good notes for me then, will you?" he smiled at her.  
  
Hermione heaved a heavy sigh and looked at Harry.  
  
"Just this once and ONLY because I know your lack of sleep wasn't your fault!"  
  
They looked at her in shock. This certainly wasn't the answer they expected.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing...um, thanks!" Harry said quickly.  
  
History of Magic was the same as always and Harry really did get to nap through most of it. Whenever Professor Binns would look in Harry's direction often, Ron would nudge him in the ribs so he could look like he was listening.  
  
When the class was over, they had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Harry was a little more rested and able to pay more attention. Professor Sprout was also nowhere near as boring as Professor Binns so that helped a great deal.  
  
Finally it was lunchtime and the three friends made their way back to the great hall. When they were seated Hermione and Ron immediately looked at Harry and asked him to tell them about the previous night. So Harry told them everything from when he left the table with Lupin after the feast until he woke them up last night. When he was done the looked at him for a moment, and Harry realized they were afraid.  
  
"Harry this is worse than I imagined!" Hermione said in despair.  
  
"That person who chased you last night probably has friends!" Ron put in.  
  
"Well I don't intend on getting lost in the corridors again, and we don't know that he has anyone with him. We don't even know if he's still in the castle!" Harry said firmly.  
  
Hermione looked at him with her disapproving glare that Harry had come to know so well.  
  
"We can't take this lightly, no making assumptions. We have to use every fact we know to stay safe," she said with conviction.  
  
"What we have to do is get going," said Ron, "lunch is over and we have to get to class."  
  
"What do we have now?" Harry asked.  
  
"Care of Magical Creatures, with that new professor, Arabella Figg."  
  
As they walked out the doors and started down the hill, they saw a lot of the rest of the class already there, but as they got closer they still didn't see Professor Figg.  
  
"I wonder where she is..." Harry started, looking around.  
  
"Looking for your precious giant, Potter?" came a drawling voice from behind them.  
  
They spun around to see none other than Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
"I think it's wonderful he was finally sacked! Now maybe we can learn something in class rather than getting attacked by that great oafs stupid beasts!" Malfoy went on.  
  
"It was your own fault you were attacked, Malfoy!" Harry began, "And Hagrid wasn't fired, he's..."  
  
Just then he was interrupted as someone called to them:  
  
"Could you all please come around back here, then we can begin class!"  
  
They walked around to the other side of the hut and saw Professor Figg standing there with many cages around her. Harry was trying to get a closer look at what was in them when Ron jumped back in horror next to him.  
  
"Spiders! Why are we studying spiders? There's nothing magical about them, unless...they're not Acromantula, are they?" All the color had completely drained from his face and he appeared to be ready to faint. Nearby, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were laughing silently.  
  
No they aren't spiders Mr. Weasley. They are Doxy, sometimes called the Biting Fairy. Come take a closer look, but please be careful! They all stepped nearer to a cage and peered inside. Harry could see what looked like a weird hybrid of a spider and a fairy.  
  
"As you can see," Professor Figg went on, "The Doxy have a very similar form to fairies, they are small and human looking. However they are covered in black hair and they have an extra pair of arms and legs. They also have wings which are thick, curved and shiny, much like a beetle's. Doxies are found throughout northern Europe and America, preferring cold climates. They lay up to five hundred eggs at a time and bury them; the eggs then hatch in two to three weeks. Be very cautious though as Doxies also have double rows of sharp, venomous teeth.  
  
Several of the students murmured to each other upon hearing this. They were definitely a little nervous and clearly hoped they didn't have to handle one of these Doxies.  
  
"Don't worry, there is an antidote and I have some here in the event any of you are bitten. However if you do as you are told, you won't need to use it.  
  
The lesson went on and she explained the ways in which they would be caring for the Doxies in groups. They had to make sure the climate was right for them and that their eggs hatched. Harry groaned inwardly knowing that this meant they would be spending several weeks with these poisonous creatures.  
  
When the class ended Harry told Ron and Hermione that he wanted to speak to Professor Figgs. He had some questions he wanted to ask her. They said they would meet him in the common room later and they were off.  
  
Harry turned back to Professor Figgs.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked as he neared her.  
  
"What do you mean?" Professor Figgs replied.  
  
"That you're a witch. I live next to you almost my entire life and you never said a word about it. Why?" 


	3. Chapter 3

"Well you know that Dumbledore didn't want you to know. Not until you were old enough to attend Hogwarts"  
  
"That was four years ago. You never said anything after I started going either. I'm just trying to understand. I don't see what harm it could've caused."  
  
"All I can tell you is I was asked to keep my secret and I did, I still do," she smiled at him and said, "I really have to be going. There are many things I need to do and you should be getting inside as well."  
  
She turned away and began gathering all of her things. Harry stood looking at her for another moment, and then turned and headed back towards the castle. Once he reached the common room he went over to where Ron and Ginny were playing chess. Hermione was reading on a chair next to them.  
  
"So what did you ask her?" Hermione asked looking up from her book as he came over to them.  
  
"I asked why she never told me she was a witch."  
  
"And she said..." Ron started.  
  
"She said she wasn't supposed to tell, which I figured, but she didn't tell me after I knew I was a wizard either. When I asked about that she said she was asked to keep her secret and still does. How? We all know so how does she still keep it?"  
  
"Maybe she has another secret," Ginny piped in.  
  
"Well this isn't the time for secrets!" Harry said feeling angry, "I need to know what's going on and if people are keeping secrets from me it makes it much harder!"  
  
"Harry calm down, you don't know what the secret is, it might not be information you need," Hermione said.  
  
"I'm sure Dumbledore has his reasons, if you needed to know he'd definitely tell you, I mean if it meant your safety and all."  
  
"But then why..." Harry started, but Hermione cut him off.  
  
"Shhh! We'll talk about it later!" she said in a whisper.  
  
"But, why..."  
  
"Look over by the stairs."  
  
They all glanced around and saw Su Chang just turning away from them and hurrying upstairs.  
  
"She was listening to everything we said!" Hermione said.  
  
"Well that doesn't mean anything," Harry said.  
  
"We don't know that. If Cho were lying to you than her sister getting into Gryffindor would be the perfect opportunity to use her as a spy. We have to be careful what we say around her." Hermione said  
  
"I think you're being a bit paranoid," Ron said eyeing Hermione.  
  
"Ron, we can't afford not to be! Don't you understand? We need to be for our safety, for Harry's safety!"  
  
"I'm going upstairs," Harry said suddenly wanting to be alone. He said he might be back down later and then started walking up the stairs. He needed time to think about a few things.  
  
The next few days passed with little excitement. In Divination, Harry was now not phased in the least by Professor Trelawny predicting his death. When she looked at him in horror and started to tell him his fate this year he just looked at her.  
  
"You know, every year you tell me I'm going to die and I'm still here. Do you think you might be reading your signs wrong?" He asked  
  
Ron laughed out loud while Professor Trelawny just looked at him.  
  
"I think you should take what I say more seriously my child." But that was it; she walked away and didn't speak to him for the rest of the class.  
  
The potions lesson with the Slytherins was horrid. Snape was just as biased of his house as ever. Harry, Ron and Neville lost a combined 35 points from Gryffindor in that lesson for stupid things.  
  
"This must be so hard for him..." Ron said of Snape's 'acting', "He must be hating every minute."  
  
Finally, at the end of the week, it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry couldn't wait to see Lupin again. When he arrived for class with everyone else Lupin had not yet arrived. They waited for a while and chatted about what they might learn from him this year and what they remembered from the last time he had taught them. When the class was halfway over and there was still no sign of him, Harry began to worry.  
  
"I'm going to go look for Remus," Harry said.  
  
"You can't! It could be a trap!" Hermione exclaimed.  
  
"That's exactly why I have to go! What if someone has taken him, what if he's hurt? I need to go now before it's too late!" Harry shot back  
  
"Maybe, I can't believe I'm saying this," Ron began, "we should just go tell Dumbledore, or just the first teacher we can find. If this is a set-up then we shouldn't walk into it, no matter what we gotten through in the past."  
  
Harry looked at Ron, then at Hermione. He knew they were both right but it felt wrong not to look for Lupin right away. He was just about to give in when the door slammed open. Lupin strode in quickly looking very anxious. Harry's heart leapt! Lupin was safe; he saw by the smiles on the other's faces they felt the same.  
  
"I apologize for my tardiness but something very important has come up. There will be no lesson today, you may all go. Harry, I would like for you to stay.  
  
Harry nodded at him and made his way to the front as the rest of the students filed out, clearly glad for the extra free time. Hermione and Ron were waiting for him outside when Lupin called to them:  
  
"This is going to take a little bit, why don't you wait for him in the common room? I promise I will take him there when we are done here"  
  
They waved good-bye and began walking up the corridor. Lupin turned to Harry.  
  
"There is someplace we need to go, please follow me."  
  
Harry wanted to ask Lupin what was wrong, why he was acting strangely. He decided that he would find out soon enough and followed him out of the classroom and started down the hall.  
  
As they walked Harry lost track of where they were. The took so many twists and turns that he knew he would never be able to find his way back alone. They must have been walking for over an hour when they finally stopped outside a small room, Lupin pushed the door open and gestured for Harry to go inside. He glanced up once again at Lupin's very strained face and walked into the room. What he saw there made his heart sink.  
  
Lupin was lying on the floor, his wand was lying several feet away from him. Harry ran over and knelt beside him, he was alive, but unconscious. Then he heard the door slam behind him. He stood up and spun around to see the same black-cloaked figure from the other night, the figure locked the door, and then turned to look at Harry.  
  
Harry grabbed his wand and held it out in front of him; he was trying to think of a spell to use when the cloaked figure raised his own wand. Before he knew what was happening he was thrown against the wall behind him with such force that it knocked all the air out of him. As he hit the floor, gasping for breath, he looked up at the figure who was still just standing in front of the door with his wand.  
  
"You will come with me Harry Potter. If you refuse, I will kill your friend!" The cloaked figure had a very deep voice. It didn't sound human; it was almost a low growl.  
  
Harry just kept staring up at him; he still couldn't see a face under the hood. Until that moment, he wasn't even sure that this thing could speak. He looked again at Lupin's limp form, his head moved a little and he heard him make a small noise, he seemed to be coming to.  
  
"Where are we going?" Harry asked. He needed to get the attention away from Lupin. He was trying to think, he glanced around and saw his wand was a few feet away from him, near Lupin. He couldn't make a grab for it without the cloaked man noticing him.  
  
"You will see when we get there," the man replied. "Come over here, now."  
  
Harry got up very slowly, he was still a little achy and his back was in a lot of pain. He walked over to the cloaked man and stopped just in front of him. He saw him raise his wand at Lupin, and a second later, ropes wrapped around him. Harry's heart sank, he had hoped that Lupin would wake up and helps him, but it didn't matter if he wouldn't be able to move.  
  
"You don't have to do anything to him. I promise I'll come, just leave him here," Harry said.  
  
"I think I like it this way better," the man said. He raised his wand again and Lupin was floating in the air. "Now let's go."  
  
The man unlocked the door and moved aside to let Harry step out. Then he pushed Lupin ahead of him through the door.  
  
"Just walk. I will tell you where to go."  
  
Harry set off down the dark hall with Lupin floating next to him. He had no wand and no one knew where he was. A feeling of dread settled firmly over him, as he couldn't see how to escape.  
  
They walked on into the darkness.  
  
The man lead them outside and down towards the Forbidden Forest. Since they had taken such a long route through the castle, they came out on the complete opposite side and had quite a walk to go before they would get there. For the first few minutes, Harry just looked at the ground. He was feeling much more helpless than he cared for, but his wand was back in that room and judging by the size difference there was nothing he would be able to do to overpower this man. He heard Lupin grunt and looked up at him.  
  
Lupin was staring right at Harry. He kept shifting his eyes down to his side and giving a slight nod in that direction. Harry was searching for what he was trying to point to, and then he saw it. Sticking out of the tip of Lupin's sleeve was, Harry's wand.  
  
Harry's heart leapt! He just had to get his wand without the man seeing.  
  
"Keep your eyes in front of you..." said the man from behind him.  
  
Harry turned his head quickly, the forest was getting closer and he didn't to know what they were going to do once they were in there. He thought of grabbing for the wand but decided against it, so Harry took a deep breath, and fell forward to the ground.  
  
"What are you doing?" the man asked angrily from behind him.  
  
"I tripped on something," Harry answered from the ground, "my leg hurts badly."  
  
"I don't care, get up."  
  
Harry got up shakily, feigning pain, and started limping along at a much slower pace than before. He made it seem as if it were agony to keep putting pressure on his leg, and kept pretending to trip up. Then he went for it, he let it seem as though he were falling and grabbed Lupin's floating form to steady himself. When he pulled back, his wand was up his sleeve instead of Lupin's. He wasted no time; he whipped the wand out, spun around and yelled:  
  
"Petrificus Totalis!"  
  
The spell couldn't have worked any better. The man fell over in the full body bind and was still. Harry ran over to Lupin and began untying him. It took a while as his hands were shaking badly. By the time Lupin was free, the man was regaining his ability to move again, quicker than Harry would've expected too.  
  
"We should take him with us," Lupin said, "bring him to Dumbledore."  
  
Harry was about to ask if he should use the body bind again when the man stood up. Before he could do anything, the man vanished before their eyes.  
  
"Where did he go? I thought you couldn't disapparate on Hogwarts grounds!" Harry exclaimed.  
  
"I don't know. We'd better get inside now, this is not a good place to be right now."  
  
Harry glanced at Lupin and saw he was looking towards the Forbidden Forest. It was very close now; if Harry had waited any longer it might've been too late.  
  
"Whoever or whatever he was taking you to is still close by."  
  
Harry shivered involuntarily. "Let's go, I guess the best thing now is to tell Dumbledore."  
  
They turned and set off towards the castle.  
  
They headed straight for Dumbledore's office once they were inside. When they went in, they saw that Ron and Hermione were there looking very scared.  
  
"Harry! You guys were gone so long!" Ron said, running over to him.  
  
"We thought something had happened to you!" Hermione cried, throwing her arms around Harry's neck. He didn't mind it though and hugged her back. When she pulled away he looked behind them. Dumbledore and Sirius were there; waiting for the explanation they knew was coming.  
  
"Something did happen to me, to us," Harry said nodding towards Lupin.  
  
"Well both of you come sit down and tell us what is was," Sirius said from the other side of the room. "Are you both okay?"  
  
"Yes," said Harry, feeling anything but okay. He was just glad to be here instead of in the forest.  
  
"Remus you look positively horrible," Sirius said looking at him.  
  
"Thank you for your kind observation, old friend," Lupin said with a grin, "but we have bigger problems to discuss than my appearance."  
  
Lupin began by explaining how he had been on his way to teach class, when he had seen the cloaked figure that had chased Harry a few days ago and followed him. He ended up following him all the way down to the room that he took Harry to. When he went in, the man was gone, then he felt something powerful knock him to the floor, and he lost consciousness.  
  
Harry explained his part from when the imposter Lupin lead him down into the room and changed into the cloaked man. He told how he got knocked against the wall and dropped his wand, and how the man threatened to kill Lupin if he didn't go with him.  
  
Lupin cut in with being aware enough that when Harry's wand fell near him, he slid it up his sleeve, as his was too far away to reach without being noticed.  
  
Then he explained the journey out of the castle, Lupin getting him to notice the wand and their escape. After all of this there was one question above all others that was bothering Harry.  
  
"How could he have disapparated? I thought that you couldn't do that on Hogwart's grounds," Harry asked.  
  
"You can't," Dumbledore began, "he didn't disapparate, he disappeared."  
  
"You mean, he just made himself invisible?" Ron asked incredulously.  
  
"That is precisely what I mean."  
  
"That's really hard to do. Even the best witches and wizards have trouble doing that. It's the reason invisibility cloaks were created," Hermione said knowingly.  
  
"You are right, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said smiling, "very few wizards indeed can master that particular feat, which makes our mysterious visitor even more dangerous than we had previously believed."  
  
"What I want to know is how he managed to impersonate Remus," Sirius said.  
  
"Well he probably used Polyjuice Potion, right?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Harry, you said that you followed him down through the corridors and were walking for over an hour. Well if that's the case than it couldn't have been because that potion only lasts for an hour. Plus he would have had to taken the time after drinking it to get to the class, dismiss them and then talk to Harry before going back to the room," Sirius said.  
  
"Then he can change his form some other way? This just gets better and better, doesn't it?" Ron asked.  
  
"I'm sorry..." Lupin said from his chair. He had been silent since telling the story and now he looked up at the rest of them. He looked very upset about something.  
  
"For what?" asked Harry.  
  
"For putting you life in danger. If I had not followed him, put a little thought into it and not tried to handle it myself this wouldn't have happened. I underestimated him and it nearly cost you your life Harry."  
  
"But it didn't," Dumbledore said, "You are both alive and not hurt very badly so don't think too hard on that. It's no use dwelling on something you can't change."  
  
"I promise I won't do that again, I was acting foolishly and..."  
  
"Then it is settled," Dumbledore said with finality. "Now you three get on to your common room; and Sirius and I will go with Remus to find his wand. Goodnight."  
  
They said goodnight and headed back to their common room. When they went in there were very few people up, but since it was Friday night they didn't have to worry about classes the next day.  
  
Harry was feeling very weary. He had been back at school one week and already he had two very close calls. The fact that this man had mastered such powerful magic only served to make him more nervous. He didn't much feel like talking, so he went upstairs to his bed. He lay awake for quite some time before finally drifting off to sleep.  
  
"Harry come on, get up!"  
  
Harry slowly opened his eyes; Fred and George Weasley were looking down at him.  
  
"Quidditch meeting today, we need to discuss Keeper tryouts and choose a new captain," George said.  
  
"Alright, give me a minute, I'll be right out." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He was excited about quidditch practice, as it had been over a year since he last played. He got dressed, grabbed his Firebolt and headed downstairs. Hermione and Ron were in the common room waiting for him.  
  
"I have to go guys, quidditch meeting, but I'll come find you right after."  
  
"We know, Fred told us when he and George left, see you later!" Hermione said as he walked out.  
  
When he got there he found the other five members of the team waiting for him, they were all sitting in a circle discussing strategy when he sat down with them.  
  
"Alright," Alicia started, "I guess the things we have to really get taken care of first, are deciding on a new captain, and setting up keeper tryouts."  
  
"Well we should probably have keeper tryouts throughout this week after classes," Harry piped up, "that way we can make a decision on Friday and begin regular practices on Saturday."  
  
"Good idea Harry," said Fred.  
  
"We'll put a sign-up sheet in the common room for Monday through Thursday. Everyone that wants a shot has to get his or her name on there tomorrow. We should also limit how many people can sign on for each day, rather than let it fill up too unevenly. We don't want to get stuck with 50 people one day and 5 the next!"  
  
"I repeat, another good idea Harry. Two in a row today, huh? Must be a record..."  
  
"Oh shush Fred, alright so we have that settled, I will make up the sheets and have them up by noon," said Angelina, "now for captain."  
  
Everyone looked at Harry.  
  
"Don't look at me, I don't know how we're going to decide this one, a vote I guess?"  
  
"Well, actually, we think you should be the new captain," said Katie.  
  
"What? When did you decide that?" Harry asked  
  
"Last year actually, we would've told you at our first practice, but there was none because of...the..." Angelina trailed off not wanting to bring up the Tri-Wizard Tournament.  
  
"Do you think you can handle the pressure?!?" asked George in mock panic.  
  
"Shut up George," said Harry with a laugh. This is something he had secretly hoped. He had been reading everything he could and wanted desperately to try out some new maneuvers with the team. "If you all want me, then I'd be honored to be the new captain!"  
  
"It's settled then!" said Fred, "Shall we get in a bit of practice before we're through?"  
  
They all agreed to go over some of their old strategies. After about an hour they decided to end for the day. They needed to get ready for keeper tryouts and Harry wanted to be prepared for their first full practice next week. He went back inside feeling wonderful, all the troubles of the past week forgotten for the time being.  
  
When the sign-up sheets went up, there was a big rush for everyone to get their name down. Harry kept checking to see whose names he recognized. He noticed Ron on the list, along with Seamus and Dean; he groaned a little when he saw the Creevey brothers on there. One time while he was reading, he was startled when someone behind him said:  
  
"I would sign up, but you don't take first-years, do you?"  
  
Harry turned and saw Su Chang standing there.  
  
"Well it's not that we don't take first-years, it's that they aren't allowed to have their own brooms and the school brooms just won't work for an actual match..." he trailed off. He felt guilty because they both new he started the team as a first year.  
  
As if reading his mind she said, "I guess the rules can be bent when it's someone famous, can't they?"  
  
Harry felt a bit angry. What was she badgering him for, it wasn't his decision to not let first years have their own brooms, and he got his spot on the team because of talent, not fame.  
  
He opened his mouth to say so but she just turned and stormed away.  
  
"She is a bit strange, don't you think?" Ron asked from behind him.  
  
"Yes, I do. She seemed very ready to fight with me over the whole thing when it's not my decision."  
  
"Just let it go, it doesn't matter."  
  
"Sure, she's probably going to tell Cho what a horrible person I am, not letting her on the team because she's a first year. Cho will like me even more than, I'm sure..."  
  
"You worry too much," Ron said with a grin, "C'mon, I'll beat you at a game of chess."  
  
"You mean you'll try!" Harry answered him. They laughed and went to begin a game.  
  
The week was flying by. Each day Harry's classes seemed to go by relatively fast (except potions). Every night he went down to the pitch with the other members of the team for the tryouts. He was really excited about Friday night's because that was the one all his friends were coming to.  
  
When he woke up Friday morning he noticed Ron was not in his bed. He got dressed and went downstairs to the common room; Ron was pacing in front of the fire. "What are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"Huh, what? Oh, nothing." Ron answered.  
  
"Nothing? Are you nervous?"  
  
"No, no! I'm good. Shall we go have breakfast?" Ron said quickly.  
  
"Sure..."  
  
Hermione was already down in the great hall. When they sat down next to her she did a double take at Ron.  
  
"Ron! Are you all right? You look upset about something!" She exclaimed.  
  
"I'm fine," but he just sat in front of his plate, not touching any food.  
  
"You'd better eat something. If don't you'll be tired all day and then you won't be able to perform well at your tryout tonight!" Hermione said.  
  
"I'm not hungry."  
  
Harry looked at his friend, not sure what to say to him.  
  
"Ron, I've seen you play, you're very good. When you come out there tonight you'll be up there with Fred, George and myself. You're used to playing with us, and Angela, Alicia and Katie are wonderful too. Just pretend like we're playing at the burrow, don't think too much about it," Harry said.  
  
Ron looked at him and nodded, but didn't look convinced.  
  
Friday went on and Lupin showed up for Defense Against the Dark Arts on time, after the lesson they headed down to the pitch.  
  
The crowd of students was not very large today; most people had gotten theirs over with earlier in the week. Harry went over to his teammates who were going over the list from last night. There were quite a few good players in their house, however none so far that could compare with Oliver Wood.  
  
He spoke with them for a few moments, then turned to the crowd of students.  
  
"Hello everyone! Thank you all for coming to tryout for the Keeper position. It's one of the most important on the team. Here's how this will work, while your primary goal is to keep the quaffle from getting past you, we also need to see how you react to the bludgers. The first part of the test will consist of our chasers, Angelina, Alicia and Katie, trying to score on you. Then if you do well against them, we will be letting bludgers out as well. Now normally in a game you will have two beaters shielding you from them, but for the purposes of today's test, Fred will be shielding you and George will be against you. Are there any questions?"  
  
All of the students shook their heads.  
  
"Alright then, we will go in alphabetical order. The rest of the team and I will be making our final decision tonight based on all of the people who have come this week. The winner's name will be posted in the common room tomorrow. So, let's get started!"  
  
Harry started calling names off the list and watched one by one as they attempted to block the quaffle. Not many, as was the case every night, did well enough in the first half to get to the second. Such as it was, Fred and George were not needed much. Harry looked over at them once and saw they were talking with Ron, but he had to draw his attention away as it was the next person's turn. Harry groaned a little when he saw the name but looked up and said:  
  
"Creevey, Colin!"  
  
He was actually quite good and, to Harry's astonishment, made it past the first half of the test. When Fred and George got up there with him and the bludgers were set loose, however, the story changed. Colin seemed to tense up and wasn't blocking as well, he was too busy looking for the bludgers than concentrating on the quaffle. When one of them got close to him, even though Fred moved to block it, he threw his hands up over his head and closed his eyes.  
  
"Thank you Colin, that will be all." Harry called to him  
  
When Colin touched the ground he seemed as though he had never been happier to do so. Harry sighed and kept going down the list.  
  
Dennis Creevey did not fare to well either, nor did Seamus Finnigan. Dean Thomas did well enough to make it through both parts, though he faltered in the second part. Everyone was afraid of the bludgers, which was understandable, as long as they didn't lose their head when they needed to concentrate.  
  
"We can't have our keeper looking for the bludgers, they need to look out for the other team making goals! You know, at this rate we're going to have to start asking other houses to let us borrow their keepers for our games!!" George said quietly to Harry  
  
"Well it isn't over yet, how's Ron? He looked so nervous earlier." Harry asked.  
  
"He's ready," was all George would say.  
  
When all the other names had been called, Ron was the only one left. When he heard his name, he kicked off on his broom, looking nervous but determined, and took his place in front of the hoops. The three chasers were zigzagging around throwing shots; Ron did fairly well in blocking them too, enough so that he had a chance with the bludgers as well.  
  
When Fred and George were in the air, the bludgers were released. All of a sudden Ron was blocking everything. Every shot thrown his way, was stopped, nothing made it through. The entire time he had a look on his face of complete concentration, even when bludgers came near him he didn't seem to notice, he just kept up his guard and let nothing through.  
  
When it was over and he landed, all of the students were looking at him in amazement, even Harry. He hadn't expected this, as Ron had looked sick over the thought of the tryouts that morning. He wanted to run over to him and congratulate him on his amazing performance, but he couldn't. He needed to speak with the rest of the team and show the other students that they were in fact going to discuss everyone's tests before making a decision. But by the looks on the rest of the team's faces he could tell, they were just as sure as he that Ron would be the new Keeper.  
  
When all the students had left, the team got together for their discussion.  
  
"Well, we saw a lot of students this week guys, and it looked a bit bleak there for a while," said Alicia  
  
"I agree, however we have to make our decision now," said Katie, "but out of all these choices..."  
  
"Oh come off it!" shouted Fred with a big smile, "We all know who the new keeper's going to be! Ron was better than anyone out there and he's definitely the only one who improved when the bludgers were added!"  
  
"She probably just wants it to feel like we're really discussing it," George said, "Do you really want us to go through all the statistics of the week after that last test?" He looked at Katie with big puppy dog eyes. She tried to keep a straight face but looked away as she started to giggle.  
  
"I agree with Fred and George," Harry chimed in, "Ron was the best we've seen all week. If we're putting it to a vote, then mine goes to him."  
  
"The captain has spoken!" Fred called. He turned and saluted Harry.  
  
"Mine goes for Ron too," said Angelina. "It will be so nice not to have to go through this entire list. I was really afraid that we're were going to be up till tomorrow morning the way things were going."  
  
"Yes Ron was the best, I vote for him too," said Alicia.  
  
"Well does anyone here not want to vote for him?" Harry asked.  
  
Everyone shook their heads, they were all in agreement.  
  
"Then it's settled, I'll announce it tomorrow morning," then as an afterthought, "I'll announce it tonight instead. That way we can begin our practice tomorrow without having to wait for everyone to get out of bed."  
  
"I just love the way he takes charge, don't you?" George said in a high- pitched voice leaning over on Angelina.  
  
"Get off of me," she said shoving him aside good-naturedly. "Well that's it then. We'll have our first full team practice tomorrow."  
  
"Right," Harry replied, "I guess that's it then, let's head back."  
  
They all got up and headed back to the castle. Harry couldn't wait to tell Ron the news, he was filled with excitement all the way back to the common room.  
  
When they walked through the portrait hole, they found what looked like every Gryffindor waiting for them.  
  
"Well, even though we were going to announce the new keeper tomorrow morning," Harry started, "we have decided to do it now so that person can have an early start with us tomorrow at practice."  
  
Everyone looked at each other nervously, some looked hopeful others looked scared. Harry glanced around the room and saw Hermione, Ginny and Ron back in a corner. Ron looked much better than he had that morning, he was even smiling.  
  
"Before I say who it is, I just want to thank all of you for trying out. There are definitely a lot of talented quidditch players here with, unfortunately, only one open space on the team. So everyone, we as a team have decided that the new Gryffindor Keeper is, Ron Weasley!"  
  
Everyone turned and looked at Ron, he had a look of astonishment on his face. There was loud applause and even though many people were disappointed, they clapped for Ron and congratulated him. Hermione and Ginny both gave him big hugs and cheered for him upon hearing his name. Ron loved every minute of it; it wasn't often that he was the center of attention. They spent the rest of the night having a celebration for their new keeper.  
  
"Ron, you were spectacular!" Harry said coming over to him. "I would never have believed you would do so well after the way you've been acting all day!"  
  
"Thanks Harry, I was really nervous, but once I made it past the first part and the bludgers were released, everything just felt natural. I can't explain it really, just how being the seeker comes with such ease for you, it just felt, you know, right..." he trailed off not sure what to say.  
  
"I know what you mean, it's okay. You really deserved it," Harry said.  
  
"Ron!" called Fred as the rest of the team came over, "Good job there, you did really well."  
  
"Yeah, I didn't think you were gonna get through it without losing your lunch!" George added.  
  
"That would never have happened," Hermione started, "He hasn't eaten all day!"  
  
"You're right, I haven't! I'm actually starving now that you mention it! Thanks you guys, I won't let you down!" he said then he went off to find some food. Probably from his rather large stash of sweets.  
  
As the celebration continued people kept coming over to Ron to congratulate him, he just couldn't stop himself from beaming. Fred and George left at one point and came back with heaps of food; Harry, Ron and Hermione knew they had taken one of their trips to the kitchen.  
  
As it got later, people started drifting up the stairs to go to sleep, soon the common room was almost empty. The twins were still there, along with a few other 6th and 7th years, Harry, Ron, Hermione and a very tired Ginny.  
  
"Well, we have practice tomorrow and it wouldn't be good to sleep through it," Harry started, "Shall we head upstairs?"  
  
"Yes, I think that would be best," Ron said. He started to get up when someone came over and stood in front of them. It was Su Chang, they had noticed her glaring at them the whole night, and she had yet to say anything to Ron.  
  
"So," she started, "you've gotten the keeper position, must be nice to have friends in high places."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" said Hermione testily.  
  
"It means I think it's just a little convenient that out of all the people who try out, the one who makes the team has two brothers on it and the captain is his best friend." She said angrily.  
  
"That had nothing to do with it!" Harry shouted at her. Several people turned their heads and glanced over. He lowered his voice. "You didn't see any of the tryouts, or how well Ron did. He was the best out of everyone and that's why he's on the team!"  
  
"I didn't have to see them. I could've told you this was going to happen from the start. Well, we'll just see how good he is really. I'm sure the first match will show that your liking of him has blinded you from picking someone who really deserves it!" she spat out.  
  
Then she spun around and stormed through the doorway up the stairs. 


	4. Chapter 4

They stared after her for a moment, no one knowing what to say. Then Ron broke the silence.  
  
"You did pick me because I was good, right? You wouldn't just let me on cause we're friends..." he trailed off.  
  
"Ron don't ever think that. She has no idea what she's talking about! You were the best out of every person that tried out and no one deserved it more. In fact until your turn not one of the people trying out was fit for the part!" Harry exclaimed.  
  
Ron looked up at him with a look on his face that showed complete respect, and pride. It obviously meant a lot to him that his best friend thought highly of him.  
  
"I knew that," he said finally, "I don't know what I was thinking."  
  
"Don't listen to anything she has to say, just brush it off," said Hermione.  
  
"Anything who has to say?" Ginny said stifling a yawn. She had obviously dozed off. Hermione said she would explain it to her on their way upstairs, they both said goodnight and started up. Harry and Ron thought it would be best that they got to bed too, so they let the others know they were calling it quits and they headed up as well.  
  
In the room, Harry noticed there was a letter on his bed. He went over to it and picked it up, the handwriting was Hagrid's! He called Ron over so they could see, tore it open and read aloud.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
How have you been? I hope school is going well, I know you've only been there a couple of weeks so far. Is Snape treating you OK? I heard about that from Dumbledore. Well I can't tell you where I am but I'm doing well, Madame Maxim and I that is. Things are moving along and with any luck I might be back at Hogwart's before the last term! Say hi to Ron and Hermione for me!  
  
Hagrid  
  
PS - ask Sirius how Buckbeak is for me!! Thanks!  
  
Harry folded the letter back up and put it in his trunk. He was glad that Hagrid was doing well and hoped he would be back before school was finished. He finished getting ready for bed, said goodnight to Ron and laid down. He thought happily about the coming quidditch season, and how wonderful it would be to win the cup again, as he drifted off to sleep.  
  
As the weeks went by, things seemed to get back to normal. Quidditch practices were held three nights a week and on Saturdays, and the days seemed to go by in a blur. When they were halfway through October, a notice went out that the first trip of the year to Hogsmeade would be on Halloween.  
  
"I'm really am looking forward to going," Harry said to them one day in Care of Magical creatures. He was looking at the Doxies in his cage who had still not laid any eggs but at least they were still alive. "I mean I didn't get to enjoy it much in my third year, and fourth year...well I don't want to talk about that, but I can't wait for this trip!"  
  
"Yeah, I guess I am too," Ron agreed looking a little pale. He still didn't like having to be so close to these creatures that reminded him so much of spiders.  
  
"Well we still have to be careful you know. I don't know if it's a good idea for you to go at all Harry..." Hermione began.  
  
"Hermione, please stop. I need this right now. Hogsmeade is very crowded and tons of students will be there as well as teachers. I'm not going to wander off on my own so please stop!"  
  
"Harry, I really think you should consider..."  
  
"Oh come off it Hermione. If Dumbledore thinks he shouldn't go than he won't be allowed. If he doesn't say anything than obviously they think it's okay," Ron cut her off.  
  
Hermione did not look convinced but she stayed silent.  
  
Later on in the week after a transfiguration lesson in which they were supposed to turn bowler caps into guinea pigs, Professor McGonagall asked Harry if she could speak with him. He went up to the front with a feeling of dread. He knew she wanted to talk to him about Hogsmeade.  
  
"Yes Professor, what did you need to see me for?" he asked her timidly  
  
"Well Mr. Potter, I wanted to ask you something. The other instructors and I have been discussing whether or not we think it's wise that you go to Hogsmeade."  
  
Harry's stomach felt like led. He was about to be told he wouldn't be allowed to do the one thing he was really looking forward to.  
  
"I wanted to ask you, what you think about this." She continued.  
  
Harry was stunned, was he being given a choice?  
  
"I really want to go Professor. I've been looking forward to it for quite a while now."  
  
"I know you want to go, but that isn't what I asked you..."  
  
"I think that it will be okay. I mean since the first week of classes nothing has happened, things seem very much normal."  
  
"Which is precisely why we must be cautious. When you get too comfortable is when you become most vulnerable."  
  
"I don't know what else you want me to say. I'm not scared or worried about going. If you're looking for me to say anything else, I don't know what it is!" Harry said a bit more forcefully than he intended.  
  
Professor McGonagall just looked at him for a moment. Harry was feeling quite uncomfortable and was sure she was now going to forbid him from going.  
  
"Well, if you swear to me that you will stay with your friends at all times, and that you won't go off anywhere, even with them, if you see something suspicious. If anything, ANYTHING, appears wrong, come get one of us and we will look into it. You are not to put yourself in harm's way."  
  
"I promise professor, I do!" Harry exclaimed. He felt like he could have sang he was so happy. He walked out into the hallway feeling very light; Ron and Hermione were waiting for him there.  
  
"So are you still allowed to come?" Ron asked anxiously.  
  
"Yes, as long as I promised to report anything suspicious rather than go off on my own." Harry answered.  
  
Hermione just gaped at them and appeared to be beside herself with shock. She apparently had believed Harry would never be allowed to go given the circumstances and was for once, speechless. Harry and Ron, finding this quite amusing, just laughed and walked down the corridor, leaving her to stare.  
  
As the week went on, Harry and Ron were planning all the things they wanted to do at Hogsmeade. Hermione still didn't approve, but as there was nothing she could do, she joined in on the planning.  
  
Quidditch practices were also going well, by the time their first match in November came up, they would be completely prepared to take Ravenclaw down.  
  
Finally it was Halloween, Harry woke up early, dressed and went down to breakfast. Ron and Hermione joined him shortly and soon they were lined up outside ready to go.  
  
When they arrived, the first place they went was Honeydukes. They wanted to get all of there candy replenished as Ron's stock was running low. From there they were off to the post office, Harry loved the sight of rows and rows of color-coded owls. Then off to Zonko's for some dungbombs, and other items that were surely on Filch's list, finally over to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer. Once inside, they found an empty table and Ron went to get three butterbeers from Madam Rosmerta. They sat there discussing where to go next and decided to stroll by the Shrieking Shack.  
  
Just then, Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle walked in the door.  
  
"Oh look! Potty, the weasel and the mudblood!" Malfoy said coming over to them.  
  
"Go away Malfoy. Do you have nothing better to do?" Harry asked.  
  
"So," he said ignoring Harry, "I hear you're the Gryffindor team's new keeper Weasley."  
  
"That's right." Ron said glaring at him.  
  
"Well who didn't see that coming? I mean the whole school knows that you only made the team because of who you're friends with." Malfoy said with a sneer.  
  
"I made the team because I'm good! And you should talk, you only made seeker because your father has money. You're the worst seeker in history, I don't see why they don't just get rid of you!" Ron screamed at him. Harry and Hermione kept a close watch in case they had to stop Ron from lunging. He was standing up with his fists clenched.  
  
"At least I have money. I don't have to wear hand-me-downs or use old wands and brooms. My friends don't pity me."  
  
That did it. Ron surged forward and Harry and Hermione barely caught the back of his robe to restrain him.  
  
"What friends?" Hermione spat at him. "You can't mean these two apes you probably pay to follow you around. They're nothing more than bodyguards who are too stupid to do anything for themselves."  
  
"Nobody said you could speak, mudblood!" Malfoy shouted at her. Crabbe and Goyle stood glowering behind him; ready to start swinging.  
  
"Don't talk to Hermione like that!" Harry shouted back. He had let go of Ron's arm and now appeared to be ready to fight too. Just then, Madam Rosmerta came over and said that if they didn't quiet down they would have to leave. Harry glanced around and saw that everyone in the place was staring at them. He lowered his head and muttered that they were sorry. The three of them left, leaving Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle behind.  
  
When they stepped outside they saw Ginny and called to her. She came over to them flashing a big smile at Harry.  
  
"Hey Ginny, where are you going?" Ron asked.  
  
"Nowhere. Just looking around really. Mind if I walk with you guys?" she asked.  
  
"Sure," Hermione answered. "We were about to walk down by the Shrieking Shack, want to come?"  
  
"Ummm... Isn't that place supposed to be haunted?" Ginny asked, clearly afraid.  
  
"Don't worry it isn't." Harry said to her. "That's just a story that got started a long time ago."  
  
"Okay..." she said, sounding very unconvinced.  
  
As they walked they started talking about the feast that evening. The Halloween feast was one of the best because of all the sweets they were given. Harry and Ron talked about quidditch a bit more, and Ginny and Hermione talked about Arithmancy, which Ginny had decided to take.  
  
"Who's that?" Ginny asked pointing. "What is she doing?"  
  
"What...?" Harry started. Then he saw her, they all did. Su Chang was walking up to the Shrieking Shack, heading for the door.  
  
"What is she doing here? She's just a first year! She'd never be allowed!" Hermione exclaimed.  
  
"Well that doesn't seem to have stopped her, does it?" Ron answered.  
  
"I wonder how...maybe she knows about the passage under the Whomping Willow?" Harry suggested.  
  
"How on earth could she have found out about that?" Ron asked.  
  
"I don't know but..." Harry stopped. Su had turn around and seen all of them looking at her. She was staring straight at Harry, and something happened that made him take a step back. Her eyes had gone completely black, she grinned, wickedly. Out of nowhere, Harry felt a searing pain course through his scar. He brought his hands up to his head put the pain was too much, he fell to his knees in agony.  
  
As the others began crowding around him to find out what was wrong, he glanced up once more. Su turned and walked into the shack.  
  
"Harry! Are you okay? Ron we have to get someone, we have to get Harry back to Hogwarts!" Hermione said, rather quickly.  
  
"Ginny, run and tell Professor Flitwick, he came here today. We'll try to help Harry back." Ron said. Ginny was off and running looking extremely pale.  
  
"It's okay Harry, we're going to get you back. Do you think you can try to stand?" Hermione asked.  
  
Harry was barely hearing anything that was being said. His head still hurt very badly but the pain was fading now. He looked around at his friends and saw their pale, worried faces.  
  
"I'm...okay. I just need...I..." he couldn't finish. He was feeling very disoriented and very confused. Why had his scar hurt so badly? It only burned like this when Voldemort was near and the only person he saw was Su. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Ron say:  
  
"We need to get you away from here Harry, can you please try to stand?"  
  
"Yes," he answered. Slowly he began to stand up and immediately felt a little dizzy. Ron and Hermione both took hold of his arms to steady him, then together, they started walking back.  
  
"Oh my word! Harry, are you okay? Come this way we have to get you back to Hogwarts!" Professor Flitwick sounded more scared then they felt. Harry allowed himself to be helped along by his friends. Soon they were on their way back to Hogwarts.  
  
When they arrived, Harry felt considerably better, though still very confused. He asked right away if he could go see Dumbledore.  
  
"I need to talk to him and it's very important!" he said urgently to Professor Flitwick.  
  
"I'm sure you do but I really think you need to go see Madam Pomfrey first."  
  
"Professor Flitwick?"  
  
Flitwick turned around; Dumbledore was standing behind him.  
  
"I thank you very much for what you have done for Harry. I promise he will see Madam Pomfrey before the end of the day. Right now it is, however, most important that I speak to him first."  
  
Flitwick nodded, but didn't look convinced. This whole episode had scared him very much. He wasn't often around when these things happened to Harry.  
  
"Come Harry, we will go to my office."  
  
Harry looked at Hermione and Ron, who both nodded at him, then, he turned and followed Dumbledore.  
  
When they walked through the doorway, Harry saw that Sirius, Lupin, McGonagall and Snape were all there.  
  
"Dumbledore, I think it's time we take action." Sirius began as soon as he saw them. "We can't just keep waiting around while Voldemort gets closer."  
  
"Please be patient Sirius," Dumbledore started, "We need to be sure what we are getting into when we finally move. For now let's hear what happened today and then we will proceed from there. Harry? Will you please tell us?"  
  
Harry sighed. He was getting tired of telling people about every painful experience he had gone through. Wasn't it enough he had to live through it once? But he sat down in a chair and told them what had happened at the end of the Hogsmeade trip.  
  
"What would a first year be doing there?" asked Lupin.  
  
"Well she could have gotten there through the passage..." Sirius trailed off.  
  
"Yes but how would she know to find it?"  
  
"I don't know how she got there," Harry started, "but I want to know why she made my scar burn. And why were her eyes black?"  
  
"Very good questions Harry. I want you to keep your distance from her for the time being. I know this will be difficult as she is in your house, but please try," Dumbledore said. This made Harry think of another question.  
  
"How could she have gotten into Gryffindor? I mean, she has all the qualities of a." he trailed off, looking at Snape. "Of a Slytherin," he finished.  
  
"You're right," Snape replied giving Harry a very hard look. "She doesn't seem to fit where she has been placed."  
  
"Well the Sorting Hat must've put her there for a reason," said Professor McGonagall. "Even if we can't quite see what it is."  
  
"Harry, I think you should go to see Madam Pomfrey now. When you are done there you may head down to the feast. I will see what I can find out about all of this."  
  
"Yes Professor," Harry said. He stood up and headed for the door.  
  
After going to the hospital wing, Harry headed for the great hall. He found Ron and Hermione and told them how the meeting went. He also told them about Su's eyes as neither of them had seen it happen, and how Dumbledore wanted him to stay away from her.  
  
"I completely agree with him!" said Hermione. "And how did she get into Gryffindor? There is something very wrong happening here."  
  
"Maybe we should talk to Cho?" Ron suggested.  
  
"And ask her what?" Harry started. "Why Su is able to use dark magic and how can she cause my scar to burn? She would laugh in our faces."  
  
"Maybe it wasn't Su who made your scar burn," Hermione began. "In the past your scar burned because You-Know-Who was right near you. But Su has been around for months and today is the first time anything happened."  
  
"So you understand why I'm confused then," Harry said.  
  
"Well she hasn't exactly been a friend to us either," Ron put in, "I can't remember her saying anything nice since we first heard her speak."  
  
"But this is entirely different. Maybe she was under a spell?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Could've been. But we have no way of knowing." Harry stated. "And there's also the fact that she's aware of the tunnel from the Whomping Willow, not only where it is, but how to get to it. I mean, we needed Crookshanks to hit the notch for us, and before that, it was done by Pettigrew. She would have to be an animagus to be able to get through."  
  
"That can't be the case, that's far to advanced for a first year," Hermione said matter of factly.  
  
"Just because you couldn't do it when you where a first year doesn't mean somebody else can't," Ron said  
  
"I wasn't meaning that it was..." then she stopped, looking very worried. "I have to go to the library!" she said suddenly.  
  
"But you'll miss the feast!" Ron called. It didn't matter though; she was already out of her seat and headed for the door.  
  
Harry and Ron looked at each other, feeling quite bewildered.  
  
As the weeks went on, things once again got quiet. Hermione spent almost every free minute at the library searching for something. Harry and Ron had yet to figure out what it was. Whenever they would try to find out from her, she would brush them off.  
  
"I can't say anything yet," she told them one day. "I remember reading something that could be very helpful to us, but until I am sure I don't want to say. If I am wrong then there is no reason to worry everyone."  
  
"But if you think there is cause for worry maybe you should just let us know what you think you remember," Ron prodded her.  
  
"Well I don't think there is cause, not just yet anyway," she answered. "Now if you don't mind I'm kind of busy."  
  
So they let it go, they had other things to think about anyway. The first quidditch match of the year was just a week away now, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. They had to practice all their strategies and techniques. On Saturday, as they were leaving the pitch, they passed the Ravenclaw team coming for their practice. No one said much of anything, a few murmured hellos, and they kept walking. Harry however was all of a sudden filled with a desire to speak to Cho.  
  
"Cho," he called her. She turned to look at him. "Can I talk to you, it'll just be a moment..." he trailed off.  
  
"Sure," she said, giving him a tiny smile. "I'll be right with you guys!" she called to the rest of her team.  
  
"What's up Harry?" she said when they were alone.  
  
"I, well, I just," he stammered, "just wanted to see how you were doing."  
  
"I'm doing fine, thanks. I heard about what happened at Hogsmeade? Are you okay?" she asked with genuine concern.  
  
"What, oh yes, I'm fine, thanks..."he trailed off. He didn't expect her to bring up Hogsmeade and wondered if she had also heard about Su.  
  
"So why didn't you tell me you had a sister?" he asked.  
  
"Pardon?"  
  
"Your sister, Su. You never mentioned her," he replied. He felt a little silly about asking though. He didn't exactly have regular conversations with Cho, why would she have mentioned a sister to him?  
  
"Harry... I don't have a sister."  
  
Harry just looked at her for a moment, dumbfounded. Wasn't Su Cho's sister? He tried to remember back to the first time he saw Su. Then he realized how silly he had been. When Su got sorted he had noticed how she looked like Cho and that their name was the same, but neither of them said the other was their sister. Harry had just assumed. He looked at her again and saw her giving him a funny look. She was obviously a bit confused.  
  
"Sorry," he said. "I'm not sure why I thought that." Suddenly he felt very stupid. First he told her he'd seen her in Diagon Alley when she said she wasn't there. Next he told her she had a sister when she said she didn't. He didn't feel very bright at the moment and wasn't sure what else to say to her.  
  
"Well, I guess we look a bit alike," she said to him. "And we do have the same last name, I could see why you would think that."  
  
"I, um...I better let you get to your practice. See you next week," He said.  
  
"Yes that would be best. Goodbye!" She turned and walked away. Harry stood and watched her go. Then he turned and headed for the castle.  
  
He ran through the portrait whole and into the common room, he wanted to find Ron or Hermione to tell them about this right away. The only person he saw upon entering however, was Su. They made eye contact for a brief moment, then he turned and headed for the stairs.  
  
"Looking for your friends?" she asked with a smirk.  
  
"That's none of your business," he said curtly.  
  
"You won't find them up there."  
  
"How do you know? Keeping a good watch on us, are you?"  
  
"Why would I want to watch you?"  
  
"You tell me. You're always doing it"  
  
They stood facing each other for a moment, glaring. Harry didn't blink; he kept his eyes even with hers. Then he saw it again, her eyes seemed to glass over for a minute, and went black.  
  
Just then the portrait hole swung open, Seamus, Dean and Neville walked in. Harry felt a bit relieved upon seeing them, then turned back to Su. She was sitting in a chair reading a book; her eyes were back to normal.  
  
"Harry! All set for the match on Saturday?" Dean asked.  
  
"What, oh yeah," Harry answered tearing her eyes away from Su. "Yes, we're as ready as ever, though we're still going to practice throughout the week."  
  
"We're getting the Quidditch Cup again, I just know it." Seamus said.  
  
"That's the plan," Harry answered. "I have to go, see you guys later!" He looked once more at Su, who was completely ignoring them, and walked through the portrait hole.  
  
He found both Ron and Hermione in the library; he quickly walked over to them and sat down.  
  
"You'll never believe what just happened!" he whispered.  
  
He explained everything from stopping Cho on the pitch up until Seamus, Dean and Neville walked in on him and Su. When he was finished they both had gone pale.  
  
"She should be expelled!" Ron exclaimed. "They can't let her stay here, she's a threat to our safety, to your safety!" he said looking at Harry.  
  
"She hasn't done anything yet, except make her eyes change color and act rude...that isn't grounds for expulsion," Hermione stated. "Did your scar hurt this time?  
  
"No," Harry said realizing this for the first time. "No, she just smiled and her eyes went black and that was it."  
  
Hermione seemed to consider this for a moment then went back to her book.  
  
"Still searching for this mysterious piece of information?" Harry asked her.  
  
"Yes," she answered, but that was all she would say.  
  
"Are you going to tell anyone?" Ron asked Harry.  
  
"I feel silly telling on her because her eyes changed color, and since nothing happened to my scar it means that she wasn't the one who made it happen last time right? Just a coincidence?"  
  
"I guess..." Ron said sounding very unsure.  
  
"Well I think you should at least mention it," Hermione said from behind her book.  
  
"You're right, you're right." Harry sighed. "I will go see if I can find Dumbledore.  
  
"Do you want me to come?" Ron asked.  
  
"If you want." They said goodbye to Hermione, who barely acknowledged them, and left the library.  
  
They started making their way to Dumbledore's office, but were stopped when they ran into Snape.  
  
"Where are you to going?" Snape asked glaring at them.  
  
"We need to speak with Professor Dumbledore," Harry answered. "It's important."  
  
"Well he won't be returning until Monday," Snape said quickly, smirking at them. "If it's so important you should tell me about it. I will pass it along to him."  
  
Harry a bit upset that Dumbledore was gone, didn't hear the last part.  
  
"Why did he leave? Is everything OK?" he asked. He was a bit rattled that Dumbledore's absence was making him so nervous.  
  
"Mr. Potter, the headmaster's business is none of your concern. Now tell me what's wrong and then go back to your tower!"  
  
"No. I want to wait until Dumbledore returns. We'll just go back to the tower." Harry answered him. He started to turn away and Ron followed.  
  
"You will tell me now or you will be in detention for a month!" screamed Snape.  
  
"You can't do that!" shouted Ron. "This has nothing to do with a test or a grade. If Harry doesn't want to tell you his business he doesn't have to!"  
  
All of Ron's courage that he had worked up to yell at Snape faded away when he saw the look on his face.  
  
"I can and I will," he said in a low voice. "Now you have one more chance to tell me or you will regret it for the rest of the year."  
  
"Snape! Leave them alone!"  
  
Sirius had walked up behind Snape and heard the end of what was said. Snape turned around, appearing ready to kill. Harry and Ron hadn't seen him this angry since Sirius 'escaped' from Hogwart's in their third year. The two of them stood glaring at each other tensely. Then, without a word, Snape shoved past Sirius and stormed down the corridor.  
  
"So," he said turning to them, "It's good you were able to get so close to Dumbledore's office or I never would have heard you out here. Do you want to tell me what's going on?  
  
"Sirius, thank you." Harry said. "We do need to speak to Dumbledore, but as he's not here, I feel better telling you than Snape."  
  
"Alright, come this way." Sirius led them to an empty classroom. When they were all inside, Harry explained of his conversation with Cho, and his brief encounter with Su.  
  
"Well I'm glad you told me. I will send word to Dumbledore and let the others know." They went out into the hallway and Sirius headed for Dumbledore's office. He spent most of his time there, as he wasn't supposed to be seen. Harry and Ron headed back to their tower.  
  
"D'you reckon Hermione's still in the library?" Ron asked as they passed by. They poked their heads in but they didn't see her. So they continued on to the tower. When they got inside they saw Ginny with a group of 4th years and Fred, George, Lee Jordan and some other 7th years playing exploding snap. Hermione was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"She must be upstairs," Harry said.  
  
"But it isn't very late yet, she didn't seem tired enough to go to bed," said Ron. "Hey Ginny, c'mere for a moment."  
  
"What is it?" she asked.  
  
"Could you go upstairs to the 5th year girls dorm and see if Hermione's in there? If she is, ask her to come down, unless she's asleep. Then just let us know."  
  
She gave them a funny look but went anyway. Ginny was gone for quite some time. When she finally came back down they looked to her anxiously.  
  
"She wasn't there. I even checked all the other girl's dorms. She wasn't in any of them," Ginny said.  
  
"Where could she have gone?" Ron asked.  
  
"Ron, we have to find her!" Harry said.  
  
"But what..."  
  
"Su Chang!" he said glancing around the room. "She's not here either! We have to find Hermione now, she may be in trouble!"  
  
They both ran for the portrait hole, and flew through it into the hallway. 


	5. Chapter 5

They both ran for the portrait hole, and flew through it into the hallway.

"Let's go back towards the library, that's the last place we saw her!" shouted Harry. They tore off in the direction of the library. When they got there, they went inside and started looking through all the aisles. There was no sign of Hermione anywhere. They stepped back out into the hall again and stopped, neither of them sure where to go.

"Maybe the great hall? Ron asked. He was looking very pale now and very nervous.

"Let's go!" Harry answered. Hermione, however, was not in the great hall either.

"Where else could she be? It's dark outside and she'd never go outside on her own at night! I think we better find Sirius or Lupin or anyone and tell them. I don't even care if it's Snape! Harry we have to find her!" Ron was looking downright scared. He had no color left in his face and he was shaking a bit.

"Ron, calm down," Harry said firmly. "We will find her, but we have to concentrate. Are you going to be able to do that because if not than you won't be able to help."

Ron looked at Harry angrily for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and nodded.

"Now, let's go find someone and tell them." Just as they stepped into the corridor, they saw someone coming towards them.

"Hermione!" Ron cried. He ran over and gave her a big hug.

"Where've you been?" Harry asked anxiously. "We've been looking everywhere!"

"I'll tell you but not here, we need to go somewhere less open," Hermione said.

"Let's use an empty classroom." Ron suggested.

"Good idea. Let's go"

They started off down the hall.

As the great hall was not right next to any classrooms, they had to walk for a few minutes. Ron kept asking Hermione to just tell them where she had been, but she didn't want to say anything. Harry and Ron both thought she was acting funny. Ron figured it had something to do with what just happened. Harry had another idea.

"Hermione, did you run into Su Chang at all tonight?"

"Harry I told you I don't…"

"Please just answer the question," he interrupted her. "I really want to know right now."

"Can't this just wait until…"

"You seem very anxious to get to a classroom," he said suddenly. "We've had plenty of discussions in the great hall and common room. Why do we need to have this one completely alone?" Harry asked. He felt it was wrong to be asking at all but something made him continue.

Hermione turned and looked at him.

"You don't trust me all of a sudden? Is that it?" she asked angrily.

"I just want you to answer the question."

Just then they heard footsteps behind them, they all turned and looked.

"Hermione!" Ron cried! "But, how…"

"Get away from her!" the second Hermione cried, running up to them.

They spun around to look at the first Hermione, and both starting stepping backwards.

Her eyes had gone black.

"This way, come on!" the real Hermione yelled.

Harry and Ron turned and ran, not looking back. When they finally stopped they saw the corridor was empty. Gasping for air they looked at Hermione.

"What just happened?" Harry asked between breaths.

"I've found out who, or what I should say, the cloaked man is," she said as they started walking. "It's a shapeshifter. I knew I'd heard a little about them before, but I didn't find out until earlier for sure."

"What's a shapeshifter?" Ron asked.

"Well, they are able to take the shape of anything they want. But they have to come in contact with that thing first. It can be a person or an animal, it doesn't make a difference, as long as they touch it."

"So then, what happened? How did it become you?" Harry asked anxiously.

"I was in the library, I had found the information I'd been searching for just after you both left. It was in a book about ancient magic believed to be extinct now and shapeshifters definitely fit in that category. They were even before You-Know-Who's time. Then Su walked in. I didn't see her until I felt someone watching me and turned around. She was standing right over my shoulder and saw what I was reading. She knew immediately that I had figured out what she was and…"

"What!" Ron exclaimed. "Su's a shapeshifter!"

"Well yes. It was her eyes that really gave it away. That's what I had thought I'd heard about them. Not to say that other kinds of magic don't change the color of your eyes. But ever since you told us about there being two Lupins and how Sirius realized it couldn't be the Polyjuice Potion, I started thinking about the shapeshifters. I thought it was very silly at first, but when you told us about Su's eyes going black, I really felt I was right then. I just had to be sure, which is why I've been at the library every day."

"So then what did she do to become you? Why couldn't we find the real you?"

"Well when I saw her behind me I immediately closed the book, and started to get up. She actually let me get out of the chair and towards the door, then I realized we were alone. No one else was in the library with us, so I started to run, but she was too fast. She grabbed my hair pulled me back and then she must've hit me with something because the next thing I remember is waking up in one of the classrooms. I'm just glad I woke up and found you guys before she got the both of you!"

"Let's go straight to Sirius. We can at least have her out of the school and…" Harry stopped, thinking for a moment. "Wait a minute. What about the real Su? This thing would have to touch her to change into her right. And the sorting hat…it put her in Gryffindor. It wouldn't have sorted a shapeshifter, would it?"

"No it probably wouldn't, especially not into Gryffindor anyway. As for the real Su, she's still alive. Shapeshifters can keep a shape for a few days, but not indefinitely, and they can't take the shape of a dead person. She would have to be alive and at least close to the castle for this one to keep her shape for so long."

"Harry, I agree let's go to Sirius, now!" Ron said.

They all headed off for Dumbledore's office, fast as they could go.

When they got to the statue that lead to Dumbledore's office, Harry said the password and they all ran in.

"Sirius!" Harry called. "Sirius we need to talk to you! Are you here?"

Silence.

"Where is he?" Ron asked. "He can't exactly just go strolling around the corridors as he pleases!"

"Well if he's in his dog form he can," Hermione said.

"I'm going to wait for him here," Harry said, "you two can do what you want."

"No, we'll wait with you," Hermione told him.

They sat down to wait. At first nobody said anything, they were all busy thinking about what had just happened. Inevitably, Harry's thoughts drifted to Cho, and a new thought occurred to him.

"It must have been a shapeshifter in Diagon alley! When I thought it was Cho, remember?" he asked them.

"I'm sure it was. I don't know when she would have come in contact with one of them but now that we know they are after you, I think it's safe to assume it was a shapeshifter," Hermione stated.

"Do you think they're working for, for…You-Know-Who?" Ron asked nervously.

"I would think they would have to be. I don't see a reason why they would suddenly decide to come after me, and if they're against Voldemort, then they wouldn'tve threatened to kill Lupin or knocked Hermione out, right?" Harry asked.

"You're quite right, Harry," came a voice from across the room. The three of them looked up to see Sirius, Lupin and –

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry exclaimed. "I thought you would be gone until Monday. That's what Snape told us."

"Because that is what I told Snape, and I wasn't planning to be back so soon, until Sirius and Remus were able to contact me. Please, tell me what has happened."

They told him everything they knew about Su, shapeshifters, and how she knew that they knew what she was.

"We have to find the real Su, professor." Harry said. "The one that was impersonating her…well…"

"Has no reason to keep her alive now that it's been found out. It knows that disguise won't work anymore," Dumbledore finished for him. "I've thought of that also."

"Professor, I have a question," Hermione said. "Why do you think the shapeshifter that took my place didn't chase after us when I found it with Ron and Harry? When I tried to run from it in the library it was too fast for me to escape."

"I will explain it to you, Miss Granger. You've found out much about the shapeshifters, but there are a few things that you won't find in any book."

"First of all," Dumbledore began after they were all seated, "the level of energy and power needed to master shapeshifting is tremendous. Many wizards who went that route were able to do nothing else. It requires extreme concentration for them to do any other kind of magic while they are in a different form."

"Well I know the night I found Professor Lupin the shapeshifter didn't do anything until he went back to his true form," Harry said. "He didn't do much magic either, just to tie up Professor Lupin and push me backwards. But when I put him in the full body bind, it didn't last as long as I thought it would."

"I can imagine. Any spells, curses, hexes, or charms you try to perform on them are muted. Stronger ones, like the body bind, will work, but for a shorter amount of time. Weaker spells won't even phase them," Dumbledore said. He turned to Lupin; "I am betting that he brought you along for a couple of reasons. One, in case he needed to take your form again, and two, because he is probably not very powerful in other forms of magic. He probably would have put you both in the body bind if he could have and it seems he didn't even have the strength to tie both of you up. So he used you, Remus to make Harry come, and he believed neither of you had your wands. The fact that he was able to use a wand shows he is one of the more powerful ones."

"So all shapeshifters start out as regular wizards?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. They chose to lessen the abilities they were born with by submitting to a darker kind of magic.

"I still don't quite understand why that Su – one didn't chase us earlier," Ron said.

"Probably because there were three of us with wands and it couldn't do magic against all of us. But it definitely would have been able to catch up to us, if it wanted to," Hermione answered.

"Miss Granger is correct, the speeds that they can reach are faster than any normal person would be able to move. It's another side effect of shapeshifting as is the glassy black that their eyes take on. When you see this it can mean only two things. Either they are about to change form or they are re-energizing."

"What do you mean, re-energizing?" Harry asked.

"Holding onto the shape. I believe Miss Granger has already told you that they can keep a shape for a few days. If they do this, they need to re-energize themselves. If they don't they will fade back to their true form."

"So what do we do now?" Harry asked.

"We are going to find them!" Sirius said immediately. "There's no way to be safe if they are loose in the school! We don't even know how many there are!"

"Sirius, please calm down, we also have no way of finding them if they don't wish to be found," Dumbledore said. Sirius was about to protest but Dumbledore spoke, "What we need to do is be aware. If anyone is acting strange, even in the slightest, we have to watch them carefully. And if you should see something out of the ordinary," he said with a meaningful look at Harry, Ron and Hermione, "I want you to find either Sirius, Remus or myself and tell us immediately." They all nodded at him.

"We also have to find the real Su Chang. She is definitely in danger now," Lupin reminded them.

"The Shrieking Shack!" Harry exclaimed suddenly. "On Halloween we saw Su, err, the shapeshifter, going into the Shrieking Shack. That would be a good hideout! No one from the village would bother them and there's a path from there to the school!"

"I believe you might be right, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Remus, please go and get Severus, Minerva and Arabella and tell them we will be needing their assistance. Tell them to meet us in my office in 10 minutes so we can go there and search for the young girl." Lupin nodded at him, then turned and went out to find the others.

"You three," he continued to Harry, Ron and Hermione, "go back to your tower and please stay there. I don't want you wandering around tonight, especially since most of the staff will be away. I will let you know if we've found her tomorrow." The three of them promised they would not go anywhere but to the tower, then they said goodnight and started their walk. As they walked they realized they were all very tired, so when they got to the portrait of the fat lady and finally got inside, they all said goodnight and went up to bed.

The next morning they all woke up very late, but as it was Sunday, they took advantage of any extra sleep they could get. They met each other in the common room when they were all dressed and decided to go and see if Su was found.

When they stepped out into the hall, they saw Lupin coming towards them.

"Did you find her?" Harry asked as soon as he saw him.

"There was no one there," he answered. "We searched the entire place and couldn't find a trace of her."

"Where else could she be?" Hermione asked. "She would have to be close by in order for the shapeshifter to keep her shape for so long."

"We are looking everywhere we can think of," he replied, "the dungeons, the towers, corridors or rooms that are hidden and even more open areas. The entire castle is being searched, if she is here we will find her."

They thanked Lupin for letting them know what happened, and went down to the great hall. Upon entering, Fred and George came up to Harry, followed by the rest of the Gryffindor team. They didn't appear to be bringing good news.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"The Ravenclaw team captain wants to speak with you," Fred began in a low voice. "They want to drop out of the match on Saturday."

"Why?"

"Well, their keeper," he began awkwardly, "someone in his family, passed away. He's going back home for two weeks, maybe more. They have a replacement though, Harry, so it's your call."

"If they have a replacement then why do they want to drop out?"

"He isn't any good," George replied, flatly.

"Well, it isn't fair that we make them play without their keeper. I'll tell their captain I'm ok with whatever he decides. Who would they be switching with? Who would we play instead?"

"Hufflepuff," Angelina answered. "Their new captain already informed me they would be looking forward to beating us again."

Harry was not too keen on facing Hufflepuff. Not only were they the only team to defeat Gryffindor since Harry became seeker, but he felt personally responsible for the death of their last captain, Cedric Diggory.

"Well then we'll have to put in extra practice this week to make sure we're ready. I'm not going to force a team to play without one of its members. Are we agreed?"

They all agreed even though Fred was still clearly unhappy about it. Harry told the Ravenclaw captain that he was fine with postponing their match. When he came back to his table he told everyone that the new practice schedule would be every night this week. They had to decide on new strategies, as the ones they had been using were to defend against Ravenclaw. When they finished talking, everyone went off to enjoy what was left of the weekend.

"This is gonna be a tough week," Ron said as they got up.

"This is nothing," Harry said. "Wait'll we have to do this and study for finals. This week will be a breeze compared to that." Ron looked at Harry incredulously and Harry just smiled back.

Saturday arrived in no time at all. They had spent the whole week training from the moment classes ended until as late as they were allowed into the night. Madam Hooch supervised every practice at Dumbledore's request.

Harry woke up early Saturday morning feeling ready. He had made sure that the practice didn't run late on Friday night so the team would have enough rest. He even told Fred and George they needed to get to sleep when he saw they planned on staying up with their friends. They had thought he was joking at first, but when they realized he was serious they mumbled something about Oliver Wood Jr. and went up to bed.

"Are you up?" he heard Ron call from behind the curtains on his four-poster.

"Yes, ready for today?" he responded.

"As I'll ever be."

They both got out of bed and dressed quickly. Harry grabbed his Firebolt and then he and Ron went downstairs. Ron had been using Seamus Finnigan's broom, which was a Cleansweep, as his Shooting Star wouldn't cut it for a real game. It was a better broom, but he still would rather use one that was his own.

They met Hermione and Ginny in the common room and they all left for the great hall together. They had breakfast with the rest of the team, and very soon, it was time to go down to the pitch.

Harry and Ron changed into their scarlet team robes with everyone else and then waited for Harry to speak.

"Well we've had a very grueling week," Harry started, "but it will all payoff today. The last time we faced the Hufflepuff team is in the past. We are going to win this game today." He looked at all of them in turn as he spoke. "Now, are we ready?" They all shouted their support and their adrenaline was pumping. They turned and ran out onto the field.

Madam Hooch came out, and called the two captains forward. Harry stepped up and was surprised to see Justin Finch-Fletchley in front of him, with his hand outstretched. They grinned at each other, confidently, shook hands and took a step back. Everyone mounted their brooms, waited for the whistle, and kicked off.

Harry watched as Angelina took control of the ball and quickly tossed it to Katie. Lee Jordan's commentary could be heard above the crowd. He was just shouting about Katie heading towards the goal, when a bludger flew at her and she veered off course. Then she spun around and headed away from the goal.

"**It didn't hit her did it? Why is she going the wrong way?"** Lee Jordan screamed. **"Katie, turn around!"**

"**Jordan! Stop talking to the players and continue with the commentary!" **came Professor McGonagall's voice.

"**Sorry professor."**

Harry smiled; he knew what was going on. He watched as Katie streaked away from the Hufflepuff goal. Angelina was a few feet in front of her, Katie held of the quaffle and was ready to toss to Angelina. The Hufflepuff chasers all moved to intercept, but when Katie's hand was in midair, she let it go behind her. It flew back away from everyone to where Alicia was waiting for it. She caught it with her left arm and flung it through the right hoop.

"**TEN – ZERO, GRYFFINDOR TAKE THE LEAD!"** Lee shouted.

Harry had already turned away looking around for the snitch. He noticed that Justin was marking him as most of the other seekers did. He heard Gryffindor score 6 more times before he heard:

"Hufflepuff scores, don't worry Ron, no one could have blocked that. It was rotten of them to…" 

"**JORDAN!"**

"**Sorry…Seventy – Ten for Gryffindor."**

Harry glanced over and saw Ron appeared a bit shaken, but he would have to ask him what happened later. He swung around again and moved up higher to get a better view. Suddenly, he spotted the snitch. It was all the way down near the ground in the very center of the field. Harry leaned forward, and broke into a dive.

The entire crowd were on their feet cheering and shouting. Harry raced forward, the ground rushing up at him. He concentrated only on getting to the snitch, he didn't even notice where Justin had gone to, but in the next second it didn't matter. He closed his fingers around the snitch and pulled out of his dive a split second before he would have crashed. The whistle blew.

**"GRYFFINDOR WINS 220 TO 10!"**

The crowd's roar was deafening the cheering was so loud. Even a few Hufflepuffs were cheering, though the Slytherins were booing as loudly as possible. Harry landed and the rest of the team ran over to him. They were surrounded instantly by the whole of the students yelling and congratulating them. Harry looked around and saw Justin Finch-Fletchley grinning at him.

"Good game," Harry said to him after making his way over.

"Yes it was. Congratulations, your dive was amazing."

"Thanks," Harry said.

"It was too fast for me. I tried to keep up with you, but you saw it first and head a big head start. You won fair and square," he held out his hand. Harry took it and they shook. Then he turned and made his way over to his friends. Dumbledore had come down to congratulate them as well.

Everyone seemed to be getting ready for a night of celebration, when they saw Snape, who had decided not to watch the game, walking down the hill from the castle. He went over to Dumbledore the moment he spotted him. Harry crept closer to hear what he had to say.

"Headmaster, we need you back at the castle immediately," Snape said sounding very urgent.

"What has happened Severus, is something wrong?"

"We've found the girl Professor, the real Su Chang."

The weeks passed. Harry had heard from Sirius and Lupin that Sirius had found Su in the great hall, laying on the Gryffindor table. He was searching the school again as most everyone was watching the game. As soon as he checked to see if she was alive he thought of bringing her to the hospital wing, but knew he couldn't let Madam Pomfrey see him. Then he tried to find Dumbledore, but couldn't go out to the field, so he had to tell the only person he could find, Snape.

Now it was two weeks until the Winter Holidays and Harry was finally going to be allowed to see Su. Her parents were coming to get her and he would be meeting them as well. They had been away, so it had taken some time before they were found, and notified of their daughter's condition. Ron and Hermione were waiting with Harry, as Dumbledore was going to explain what had happened to them, then come and get him when it was time.

"Why does Dumbledore want you to meet her parents?" Ron asked.

"Probably because this is all my fault," Harry said glumly.

"Don't say that, Harry! There's nothing you could have done to prevent this," Hermione scolded him. He knew she was right but he still felt immense guilt whenever he thought about it all. She was only hurt because of him, whether he could have stopped this or not.

"What I want to know, she continued, "is why they brought her back, and why she's alive. Not that I'm unhappy about either of these things but, it just doesn't seem to fit."

"Whatever the reason, I'm sure we'll find out," Harry said.

"Well I just want to find out before they decide to show us," Hermione replied.

At that moment, Dumbledore came through the portrait hole.

"Harry, are you ready to come downstairs?" he asked.

"Yes, um…how is Su? How are her parents?"

"They are, still adjusting to the news, but happy that she is alive."

"Well, I'm ready then. Let's go."

They walked downstairs in silence. Harry wanted to ask Dumbledore the same questions Hermione had asked but thought it would be better to wait. When they walked in to the hospital wing, Su's parents were sitting by the side of her bad. They both looked at Harry and he could see how distraught they were.

"So," Su's father began through clenched teeth, "you're Harry Potter. You're the reason my daughter was almost killed."

Harry was stunned. He had been expecting them to blame him; he blamed himself, but it still came as a shock.

"Mr. Chang! It was not Harry's fault!" Dumbledore said severely before Harry could respond. "I explained everything that happened before bringing him here specifically to avoid this. Neither Harry, nor anyone else here, had any way of knowing what had happened. There was no way to prevent it. Let's just be glad Su is safe."

Mr. Chang sat back down, throwing a disgusted look at Harry, before turning again to his daughter. Harry didn't know what to say. He wanted very much to leave, as he was clearly unwanted here. He was about to say he would go when Mrs. Chang stood up. Harry braced himself for what was coming.

"Would you like to come sit with her?" she asked him. He was again shocked. He looked at Mr. Chang who was looking furiously at his wife.

"I don't want him near her! He's caused enough…"

"This isn't about what you want. This poor boy had nothing to do with what happened to Su and he obviously feels very bad about it. We," she said pointedly, "are not going to make him feel worse. Plus you know how much Su admires him from everything she's read."

She looked into Harry's eyes and smiled at him. It was a warm smile and it made him feel better. He walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down.

"Thank you," he said. "I feel horrible about all of this, truly. I never meant…"

"We understand," she cut him off.

"How long has she been asleep? Has she woken up at all?"

"Yes she's been up for a bit here and there. She is always so tired though, that it isn't usually for very long."

Harry sat with the Changs for a few more moments. When he was about to get up he looked down at Su one more time. She was looking back at him, wearing a big smile.

"Harry Potter!" she said. She was very excited, but her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Hello Su. How are you feeling? I'm so sorry about all of this…"he said, all the guilt rushing back to him. She was horribly exhausted.

"I am so happy that you're here! I've wanted to meet you my whole life!" she turned her head and looked at her parents. "He came to see me! Harry Potter came to see me!"

"It's the least he could do for you…" Mr. Chang mumbled. Mrs. Chang gave him a look full of warning.

"I'm glad you're okay," Harry said to her. "I'm going to go and let you have time with your parents. I hope to see you better soon and back with the rest of us in Gryffindor."

"I don't know about…"Mr. Chang began again.

"We'll talk about that at home," Mrs. Chang cut him off. "Su's coming home with us for the winter holidays, we're leaving today," she explained.

"Oh, but mum…"

"No buts, you need rest and home is the best place for you."

Harry said goodbye again as Su continued to plead with her mom to be allowed to stay, but secretly he agreed with Mrs. Chang. Su would be better off far away from this place, for a little while at least. He headed back up to the tower, feeling much more relieved.

When he got back to the tower, he told Ron and Hermione about his visit with Su. Hermione was very angry that Mr. Chang would blame Harry, but at least things had turned out okay in the end, so she let it go. An announcement had been put up while he was gone; there would be another Hogsmeade trip on the day before the winter holidays. Harry wasn't as excited as last time upon hearing this news.

"Dumbledore will never let me go this time," he said. "Not after our last trip. The only time my scar burned since…last year, was at Hogsmeade."

"Well you haven't been told no yet, have you?" Ron asked.

"No, but the announcement just went up. They haven't had time to tell me."

"I think it's better this way," Hermione spoke up. "You really will be much safer in Hogwart's. Don't you see that?"

"I see the reason in what you're saying, I just don't want to live my life in fear and hiding. I have been able to live through every encounter with Vol- You-Know-Who so far. It's not like I want to go out to run into him, I just want to do things that other kids do!"

"I just don't want to lose my friend," Hermione said looking at him. He stared back at her, but didn't say anything. Ron broke the silence.

"Well, we better get the rest of our potions homework done, or Snape'll take more points from Gryffindor."

"I'm sure he'll do that even if it's perfect," Harry replied, "but you're right, coming Hermione?"

"Already finished."

"There's a surprise." They headed upstairs to get their books, and spent the rest of the evening doing homework, and then headed off to bed.

That week, after their transfiguration lesson, Professor McGonagall again asked Harry to stay after. He knew exactly what was coming and didn't act surprised or even angry when she told him he would not be allowed to Hogsmeade this time. He told Ron and Hermione, who were waiting for him outside of class.

"That's okay. I've been there a few times now, and there will be other trips," he told them, unconvincingly.

"Do you want us to stay?" Hermione asked. "I know I'll stay if you want me to. Ron? How about you?"

Ron nodded, though he really didn't want to, he would do this for Harry.

"No," he told them. "I don't want you to stay because I have to. I expect you to bring back lots of candy and trick toys for me!"

"Absolutely!" Ron said immediately.

"Well, if you're sure…" Hermione trailed off.

"I am," Harry answered.

When the last day of term finally came, Harry saw his friends off, then turned and headed back towards his tower. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do yet. He had homework to get done, but he had all the holiday to do that and wanted to wait for Ron so they could help each other. He wasn't allowed outside the castle without a teacher and he didn't feel like walking around with a chaperone. So he decided he would just go to the common room and see who else had stayed.

When he got to the portrait, he was just about to say the password, when he heard something down the hall. He could hear people talking, arguing just out of sight, he was about to ignore them, as it was none of his business, until he heard something that turned his blood to ice.

"Imperio!"

Someone had used the Imperius Curse! He had to go look; the other person could be in danger! Slowly, he crept along the wall…

When he reached the end of the hall, he peered around the corner. It was too dark to see anything; he pulled out his wand and whispered:

"Lumos."

The wand tip lit, and he looked around again. He could barely make out two figures walking in the opposite direction down the hallway. He started after them, knowing the whole time that he shouldn't be doing this alone, but unable to leave whoever was being controlled by the curse. He didn't know if he left to get help, would he be able to find them again?

He was now passing by some classrooms that were in the upper regions of the castle, when he turned the last corner; it was a dead end. How could he have lost them? He spun around to retrace his steps when someone stepped out of one of the classrooms and blocked his way. He looked up into the eyes of Arabella Figg.

She didn't move, just stared at him. Then another figure came out behind her, one wearing a black cloak. A death eater.

"Professor Figg! We have to get out of here now!" He yelled. But Figg just continued to stare at him, not moving. Harry realized she was the one who had been put under the Imperius Curse. He couldn't believe he had walked into this! He was trapped in a dead end with no one who knew he was there.

Harry heard the death eater mumble something, and watched as Figg raised her wand, and pointed it at him.

"Crucio."

Harry was hit with the curse he remembered so well from the last time it was used on him. He writhed on the floor in agony and knew nothing, except how much it hurt. Finally, when it seemed he would pass out, when he could take no more, it stopped. He didn't move, he couldn't. He saw a shadow above him and could barely make out the shape of Figg looking down at him. She again pointed her wand at him, and tight ropes wound themselves around him. He was lifted in the air, and she directed him down the hallways, followed closely by the death eater.

As they moved he began to regain some of his strength, though his head was pounding. He struggled against the ropes holding him, but it was no use. Even if he could get free, he had dropped his wand and had nothing to use against the death eater or Figg. Suddenly, they stopped; he craned his neck around to try to see what was happening. He saw Figg looking a little shaken, and very weak, but more like her usual self. The death eater was just raising his wand toward her, probably to use the Imperius curse again, when she spun on him.

"Expelliarmus!"

In her weakened state, the spell didn't work as well as normal, but it caused him to lose the wand, when he dove down to get it, she turned quickly back to Harry. She brought him down to the ground and released him from the ropes.

"Run!" she shouted at him.

"But, what about y-"

"Just go! Quickly"

The death eater was advancing on them again; he raised his wand but pointed it at Harry this time.

"Crucio!"

Figg shoved Harry out of the way, hard, and took the full force of the curse. Harry didn't have a choice. He could do nothing to help her so he turned and ran.

He didn't stop running until he reached Dumbledore's office, yelled the password and went inside. He was a little shocked to see Professor Snape there, and no one else. Snape was looking at him with a shocked expression on his face, and he had gone a little pale.

"Professor Snape, we have to…Figg…a death eater, where's Professor Dumbledore…" He couldn't continue and fell to his knees, shaking with exhaustion. Snape came over to him, and helped him off the floor, then he steered him over to the nearest chair and let him sit down.

"Mr. Potter, I am going to leave you for a moment. I will get Professor Dumbledore so you can explain to us what has happened," Snape said, then he turned and left the room.

Harry found it strange that Snape was acting so nice to him, but he didn't dwell on it. He had to talk to Dumbledore as soon as possible so they could help Professor Figg, and hoped very much she was still okay or at least alive.

A few moments later, Snape came back in with Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin and McGonagall. Sirius ran over to Harry immediately to see if he was okay.

"Harry! What happened? Who did this to you?" he asked anxiously.

"What do you mean-" he started. How could Sirius tell by just looking at him what was done to him? Then he put his hand up to the side of his head, when he pulled it away there was blood on it. He had been hit so hard with the Cruciatus Curse, that one of his ears was bleeding. That's why Snape looked so shocked.

"Harry," Dumbledore said, "Professor Snape told us you mentioned Professor Figg's name, and that there was a death eater. Is this true?"

"Yes," Harry answered him. He told them as quickly as possible everything that had happened since he first heard the argument near his common room.

"I couldn't help her," he said, "so I ran. I'm so sorry but…"

"Don't be sorry," Lupin told him, "If you had stayed then you'd be with that death eater now. There was no other choice for you."

"Why didn't he chase after me?" Harry asked. "He could have stopped hitting Professor Figg with the curse and done so."

"I suspect," Dumbledore began, "that he was here to take Professor Figg. When he saw you, he saw an opportunity, which thankfully he missed."

"What would he want with Professor Figg though?" he asked.

"I promise you I will explain everything to you, later tonight. I want you to go to the hospital wing right away. Minerva, will you please accompany him down there? Remus, please go with Severus and see if you can find Harry's wand."

Harry left feeling quite confused. All he could think of was that this must have something to do with the secret Figg must have been keeping. When they got to the hospital wing, McGonagall left him with Madam Pomfrey, who, after Harry was changed and in the bed, gave him a potion so he fell straight asleep.

When Harry awoke later that evening, he felt very well rested. He grabbed his glasses off of the table next to him and saw that Hermione and Ron were at his bedside. They both were looking very worried.

"Harry," Hermione began in a weak voice, "are you alright?

"Dumbledore told us you were attacked," Ron added. "He said you would tell us what happened if you wanted us to know. I guess keeping you away from Hogsmeade didn't work the way they hoped, did it?"

"There was a death eater in the castle," Harry told them, "and he wasn't here for me, I just happened to come along, that's what Dumbledore thinks anyway."

"Who was he here for then?" Hermione asked. Harry sighed and explained the events of that day for the second time.

"Professor Figg? What would You-Know-Who want with her?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. Dumbledore said he would explain it all to me tonight. I have a feeling I know what he's going to tell me though."

"What?"

"That Professor Figg is my Secret-Keeper."

"So you figured it out, did you Harry?"

The three of them looked up to see Dumbledore standing at the foot of the bed. He walked around to the side and sat down.

"Arabella Figg has been your Secret-Keeper for over 14 years now. Somehow, Voldemort was able to discover who she was, and sent one of his followers to get her. He also must've known that the school would be mostly empty today, or he never would have tried it."

"But why? Why would he go after her here? I'm not at the Dursley's right now so knowing where I live won't help them at all!"

"True, but it may help him later. We don't know exactly when he plans to attack you. That death eater this morning was not sent for you but that didn't stop him from trying. It will always be this way, no matter what his plans he won't pass up an opportunity to get to you, nor will any of his followers."

"How did he find out about Professor Figg?" Ron asked.

"I don't kn-" Harry started.

"Su," Hermione said. "The fake one, the shapeshifter. She was listening to us that day in the common room, remember? We were talking about what Professor Figg had said to you, Harry, when you asked her why she never told you she was a witch. You told us about her having a secret that she still kept, and the shapeshifter heard the whole thing!"

"You're right Hermione, I remember that! We saw her standing near the doorway. When she saw us listening she turned and ran upstairs, that must be what happened; she told Voldemort what she heard!" Harry exclaimed.

"It could have been. We have no way of knowing how many shapeshifters were around the school and we have to entertain the notion that they are not all gone." Dumbledore said. "What we have to do now is find out what Voldemort is really up to. I am going to go away again for a short while after the holidays. I believe we may be very close to discovering what went wrong during his rebirth and why he needs you," he said looking at Harry. "I want you to promise me you will not go off on your own, for any reason. If you think someone is in trouble then come and tell me and I will take care of it. I would also rather you not wander around on your own. I know this isn't what you want to hear but it's necessary, please understand."

Harry nodded, "I promise, professor."

"Good. Now please try and get a bit more rest, I will check in on you later." With that, he stood up and the three of them watched as he left the room.

There wasn't much more that Hermione and Ron could do, and it was getting late, so they said goodnight to Harry and went back up to their tower. Harry sat there thinking about all the problems going on this year. Two people were now hurt so that Voldemort could get to him, one of them was missing. He just hoped that Professor Figg was still alive.

Madam Pomfrey came over to him then with a potion to make him fall asleep. He drank it all, and immediately felt his eyes begin to droop. He laid down fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next day he was allowed to go back to his tower. Everyone had left to go home for the holidays that morning so it was very quiet when he got there. Ron, Hermione and Ginny had all stayed behind though and were waiting for Harry when he got there. They didn't bring up anything about the day before and for this Harry was grateful. They spent the afternoon playing games of exploding snap and even did a bit of homework (at Hermione's prompting). Ron and Harry played a bit of chess later on in the evening while Hermione and Ginny watched, giving Harry their advice here and there.

The next morning, Harry woke up by Ron shaking him awake.

"Happy Christmas Harry! C'mon get up! We've got presents!"

Harry sat up and put his glasses on, he saw a small stack of presents at the end of his bed. He looked over at Ron's stack, which was a bit bigger, and noticed one especially familiar shaped package.

"Ron, what do you suppose that could be," Harry said pointing at the package.

"I'm opening that one first!" Ron said excitedly. He ran over to it and began tearing the paper away. When he saw it his face broke out in the biggest grin Harry could ever remember him making. Ron was so happy Harry was beaming for him.

"A Nimbus 2000!" Ron cried. "I can't believe it! I've got a Nimbus 2000!"

"Who's it from?" Harry asked still smiling.

"My parents," Ron said looking at the note attached to it. "They got it because I made keeper. They said they wanted to give it to me before the first game but couldn't get one in time for that. Harry this is wonderful! I can use my own broom in games now!"

"Yes you can, and with this broom, and your already amazing skills as a keeper, nothing will get past you!"

At that moment Hermione and Ginny came in carrying presents.

"Happy Christmas!" they said at the same time.

"Hermione, you do know this isn't the girls'…" Ron started, but stopped when she glared at him. He was only teasing her anyway and was glad to see her.

They spent the rest of the morning exchanging and opening presents. They all got their usual sweaters from Mrs. Weasley and Harry got an eraser from the Dursley's with a note that just said 'The Dursley's' on it. He gave it to Ron to give to his dad, as he knew Mr. Weasley loved muggle things.

When they were done exchanging presents, they got dressed and spent another day having fun and playing games. Soon it was dinnertime and they all left the common room and started for the great hall.

When they got down to the great hall they saw there was only one table, Dumbledore had once again gotten rid of the other tables as so few students stayed for the break. They also noticed that not only was Professor Figg missing, so was Snape.

"Dumbledore must've sent him back to spy on You-Know-Who," Hermione whispered.

"I bet he did, probably to find out if Professor Figg is still alive and if she told him anything," Harry said.

"Let's not talk about this now guys, please?" Ginny pleaded.

"You're right, let's just enjoy dinner, it's Christmas, after all," Hermione said.

They walked up to the front of the room and sat down at one end of the table.

"Happy Christmas to all of you!" Dumbledore said with a big smile. "Please, eat up!"

Their plates filled with all of their favorite foods and they ate until they were stuffed. After they finished, Dumbledore asked Harry if he could take some food up to his office, for "Snuffles." Harry said yes and Ron wanted to come too so they both grabbed as much food as possible and set off for Dumbledore's office.

"Thank goodness!" Sirius exclaimed when he saw them come in. "I was beginning to think Dumbledore had forgotten to send you!"

"Happy Christmas Sirius!" they both said to him.

"Haw-pee Kish-mush!" he said through a mouthful of food.

They stayed with him as he ate his dinner. When he was finished he heaved a big sigh. Then he reached behind him and turned back with a small box, which he gave to Harry.

"What's this?" Harry asked, turning the box over in his hands.

"It's your Christmas present from me. It's not anything special, or even particularly useful, but I thought you would like it" Sirius told him.

Harry pulled the lid off of the box and peered inside. Inside was a silver pocket watch, it looked like any other pocket watch, but when he turned it over he saw something engraved on it, "James Potter."

"Sirius!" Harry gasped. "This belonged to my father? Thank you!"

"Like I said," Sirius began with a grin, "nothing big, but I thought you might like to have it. It was one of his favorite possessions from the muggle world because your mother gave it to him. I'm glad you like it."

"I love it!" Harry was ecstatic for now he had two things that once belonged to his father! The invisibility cloak, and this.

"Now, I think it's time you two were on your way. Merry Christmas, and please head straight back to your tower."

They promised him they would and left the room.

The winter holidays went by without any incidents. Harry was glad for this and also a bit surprised. He had thought if anyone were going to try to attack again, it would be while the school was mostly empty. Though he also had been doing exactly what Dumbledore had asked, staying with his friends everywhere he went and not running off where he shouldn't be.

Soon the holidays were over, everyone returned to the school and classes resumed. Dumbledore left as he said he was going to, Harry hoped it wouldn't be for too long, and Snape had returned. The first potions lesson back was different than any other. While he and Ron were at their cauldrons, Malfoy was whispering something to Crabbe and Goyle. Then he grabbed something from his bag, turned, and tossed it into Harry's cauldron. Almost immediately, the potion, which had been red, turned black, and dark smoke was billowing up from it. Harry jumped backwards, choking and waving his arms to try to clear the air in front of him.

"Having trouble Potter?" Malfoy laughed. "Can't even make a simple potion, can you?" Crabbe and Goyle were snickering behind him.

"It appeared he was doing fine until you threw a toad's liver into it," Snape said coming up behind Malfoy.

"Sir, I – I…" Malfoy stammered.

"Twenty points from Slytherin, now get back to your work," Snape hissed at him. "Potter! Go dump that mess and start again. I suggest you hurry as there isn't much class time left."

Malfoy looked as though he had been slapped in the face, but turned and continued working on his potion. Harry stood there not moving. He couldn't believe Snape had not only took points from his own house, which he had never heard him do before, but he took Harry's side over Malfoy's! He stayed there until Ron elbowed him in his side, which brought him back to reality, and began to drag the cauldron over to the side to dump it.

"Can you believe that?" Ron asked as they left potions. "He took points from Slytherin! From Malfoy!"

"I know, I wonder why. Do you think something happened over the winter holidays?" Harry asked.

"Whatever it was, we should be thankful for it," Hermione put in.

"If he's trying to keep Voldemort's trust, I wouldn't think this is the way to go about it. I mean, Malfoy will be sure to tell his father, who will pass the information along.

"Don't say that name…" Ron said.

"He must realize that," Hermione added. "There must be a different reason. Not to mention what he did wasn't too suspicious. Draco threw something in your potion and Snape saw it. Any teacher would have taken points off for that."

"Hermione, have you forgotten entirely what potions has been like for the last four years?" Harry asked. "He would never blame someone in his house for anything, no matter whose fault it was! There is definitely something up, I just wish I knew what."

They stopped talking then, as they had to split up, Hermione to Arithmancy and Harry and Ron to Divination.

Divination was, as always, a joke. Professor Trelawny had been showing them how to read the future using tarot cards. So of course she happened to walk by Ron turned over a 'death' card in front of Harry.

"Your time is almost up, my child!" she exclaimed "It's so sad really, but all the signs have been pointing to it since you first came here."

They watched her float away with tears in her eyes. Ron looked at Harry, they both burst out in silent laughter.

"I think we should seriously consider changing this course for next year," Ron said to Harry. "We aren't learning anything, we can't predict anything or read tea leaves or see things in crystal balls."

"Well, as long as we can keep pretending that we can predict our own deaths, we'll keep passing. She can't see anything either and the one time she did, she had no idea she'd seen it," Harry said laughing.

When they left there, they went down to the great hall for lunch, then it was off to Care of Magical Creatures.

"I wonder who'll be teaching?" Hermione said as they walked down the hill. "Now that Professor Figg is gone and all…" she trailed off.

When they got to the hut they went around to the back where the other students were, and waited for the instructor to arrive.

After a few moments their question of who would be teaching the class was answered. Professor Dumbledore came around the corner of the hut, carrying a small, sad looking, greenish black bird that resembled a vulture.

"Hello class," he said to them "due to the fact that Professor Figg has…unexpectedly left…I will be teaching until either she or Hagrid returns."

Harry felt a bit guilty when he mentioned Professor Figg, but he was still happy despite that. Dumbledore came around to the center of where the students were sitting and sat down.

"I know that just before the winter holidays you finished up with the Doxies, fortunately, Professor Figg left a schedule of what she had planned to go over next. Can anyone here tell me, the name of this bird I'm holding?"

As expected, Hermione's hand shot in the air.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"An Augurey. It's also known as an Irish Phoenix," she answered him.

"Quite right, very good. Can anyone tell me where they are from?" Hermione started to raise her hand again but before she could say anything someone else answered.

"Ireland?" Malfoy called out. He sounded as though this should be perfectly obvious.

"Yes, where else?" Dumbledore continued.

"Britain," Hermione said, taking a cue from Malfoy and not bothering to raise her hand.

"That is correct. They are also sometimes found elsewhere in Northern Europe but they are native to those two countries. They are extremely shy animals. They have a distinctive low and throbbing cry, once believed to foretell death. Wizards avoided their nests for fear of hearing that cry, and more than one wizard is believed to have suffered a heart attack on passing and hearing an unseen Augurey wail." He stopped for a moment, seeming to consider something.

"That reminds me of an interesting story. Uric the Oddball is known to have slept in a room containing no fewer than fifty pet Augureys. During one particularly wet winter, Uric became convinced by the moaning of his Augureys that he had died and was now a ghost. His subsequent attempts to walk through the walls caused what was called a 'concussion of ten days.'" He chuckled to himself and then continued.

"Later research revealed that the Augurey merely sings at the approach of rain, and has since been used as a home weather forecaster, though many find its continual moaning during the winter months difficult to bear.

Dumbledore went on to explain how to care for Augureys, how they needed to nest in bramble and thorns and that they ate large insects and fairies but in heavy rain would also eat flies. He told them that starting next week they would be caring for baby Augureys and then class was dismissed.

"At least they don't look like spiders!" Ron said with a shudder. Harry and Hermione laughed at him as they walked back up to the school.

After they got back to the common room, they saw that a notice had been posted near the door. There was going to be another ball, this time in February.

"Well now I can use my new dress robes," Ron said.

"Who are you going to ask to go with you?" Harry asked him.

"I definitely don't want to wait until the last minute again that's for sure," Ron said more to himself than to anyone else. He looked up and glanced around the room. "Be right back," he told Harry. He walked right across to where Hermione was talking with Ginny and watched as he pulled Hermione over to the side. A moment later he was walking back over to Harry with a big grin on his face.

"Hermione and I are going together," he said.

"That was quick! You didn't waste any time at all!" Harry said, amazed.

"Well I didn't want to end up having you ask Parvati to have her sister go with me again. I also didn't want to watch her dance with someone else all night," Ron answered looking at Hermione. "So, you gonna ask Cho?"

"I don't know about that, especially after last year and all," Harry said.

"Come on Harry! If you want to ask her than do it before someone else does. If she says no to you then she says no."

"Listen to you, suddenly you're an expert!" Harry said with a laugh. "I'll have to think about it later anyway, we've got quidditch practice tonight. Our next match is with Ravenclaw, the one that was postponed from last time."

They walked down to practice together and met up with the rest of the team. Ron was very eager to show off his new Nimbus 2000 and passed it around for all to see. They stayed out for a little over two hours practicing many of the same maneuvers they had done the first part of the year, when they had originally been planning to face Ravenclaw. When it was getting hard to see, they ended the session and went back up to the castle.

No sooner had they stepped through the portrait hole, than McGonagall came in the room.

"Mr. Potter," she said looking at Harry, "I need you to come with me right away to see Professor Dumbledore."

"But I thought he was going to be gone for a few days," Harry said.

"He returned only moments ago and asked that I find you right away, it's very important so if you please," she said gesturing towards the portrait hole.

Harry nodded and stepped through the hole, followed by McGonagall. She was walking very fast for her size and Harry had to trot a bit to keep up with her. They passed through the entrance and into Dumbledore's office, where he was waiting with Lupin, Sirius and Snape.

"Please come in and sit down Harry, there is something we need to talk to you about," Dumbledore said to him. He didn't look at all like usual; something was bothering him a great deal. Harry sat down and looked at Dumbledore again.

"What's the matter?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to know.

"We've found out what went wrong during Voldemort's rebirth," he began grimly, "and why he needs you very badly, in order to stay alive."


	6. Chapter 6

Harry just looked at Dumbledore, not saying anything, waiting for him to continue. Then Dumbledore spoke.

"Before I tell you this, it is important to understand that Voldemort has followers everywhere. He has enlisted the help of shapeshifters, as we now know, he has his death eaters, and even now he is enlisting the help of countless others to achieve his goals. What he has planned for you is their primary goal right now. We know they have tried to take you several times this year and they will try again, you can be sure of it. What I'm going to tell you will be very hard to hear, but you need to know. You need to know how vital Voldemort considers you to his survival."

He stopped for a moment and Harry just looked at him, his mouth feeling so dry he didn't think he could speak if he wanted to. Dumbledore went on.

"When you were taken," he began, "at the end of the tournament last year, it was because Voldemort felt your blood would make him return even more powerful then before and he would use no one else because of that. This was true, he is more powerful than before, but your blood has had another effect on him as well, one he is most displeased about, it's killing him. When your mother died for you I told you the mark it left inside you was so strong Voldemort could not touch it, and this remains true still."

"But, he was able to touch me at the end of his rebirth," Harry cut in.

"Please let me finish. Yes he was able to touch you, but that was because it was so soon after the spell was finished. Over the past few months we have found out that it is starting to cause him much pain, his body is rejecting it."

"Well that's good!" Harry exclaimed suddenly happy. "We can just let it kill him and be done with it!"

"It's not so simple, I'm afraid. The process is very slow, it could take years. If he does nothing then yes he will die from it but I think we all know better. He's going to do everything in his power to ensure he lives on."

"So, then why does he need me? What can I give him that would ensure he lives? I can't give him more blood or it'll just hurt him more right?"

"Correct it would, but that isn't what he's after. It's his body that's rejecting it, he doesn't want new blood, he wants a new body."

Harry was speechless with shock as questions raced through his mind. Voldemort wanted to switch bodies? How could he defend against that? Why his? When he realized they were all staring at him and he was sitting there with his mouth open he shut it quickly and sat up a little.

"Why does it have to be mine?" he managed to ask, barely above a whisper.

"Because you were the one who brought him back," Snape answered.

"I'm sorry," Harry began, trying to explain the way he was acting, "this is just a lot more than I expected."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, your reaction to this is much better than we had anticipated, you're handling it very well, considering," Lupin explained, looking very shaken himself.

"If he succeeds what happens to me? Do we switch bodies? Will I spend the rest of my life in his old body?" Harry asked.

"No, if he succeeds you will die," Dumbledore answered him. "He will inhabit your body, his old one will be lifeless and you will cease to exist."

"Oh…" Harry said, all the color draining from his face. He had hoped there would be some kind of counter-spell or something. He started to feel twinges of hopelessness and despair, but forced them down, refusing to let them consume him.

"Harry, he hasn't got you yet, and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure it stays that way," Sirius said coming over to Harry and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"What we know is that he is planning on going for you while you are still here. He only took Professor Figg in case his plan fails and he has to try for you at your home with the muggles. He does not intend to wait though, the pain he is already feeling is causing him to come down much harder on his followers, they want to deliver you to him as badly as he wants you caught," Snape told him.

"So, he told you all this, did he?" Sirius asked him sounding suspicious.

"Yes, he did," Snape hissed. "He seems to trust that I have indeed decided to return to him. He made sure all of his followers were present when he told us of his plans."

"I believe you," Harry said looking right in his eyes. It was the first time he truly felt he could trust Snape, whether it was because of how he had acted in class earlier or for some other reason, he just knew it. Snape just nodded at him and turned away. Sirius looked like he didn't agree with what Harry had said but stayed silent.

"Remus," Dumbledore said then, "Please take Harry back to his tower. He needs to get some rest for now." Then he turned to Harry. "There is nothing else I can ask of you that you aren't already doing. I can't tell you to be anymore careful then you are already being, so now it is up to us to make sure we keep you safe. Please try not to think too much on this tonight and get some sleep."

Harry nodded at him and stood up. He followed Lupin through the door and down the halls towards his tower. He wondered if he would sleep at all that night.

Hermione and Ron were waiting for him yet again when he returned. The look on his face told them something was very wrong.

"Harry what happened?" Hermione exclaimed. "You look sick, are you alright?"

They both looked at him with worry in their eyes. Harry was about to tell them he was going to bed, but discovered that he needed to tell someone what had happened. He needed to get everything he was feeling out, and soon. So with a shaky sigh, he explained everything he had been told in Dumbledore's office. When he was done, he saw they were looking at him in the same way he must've been looking at everyone in the office.

"Oh my…oh my…" was all Hermione could say. She was as white as a sheet and even shaking a little.

"What are they going to do about it?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. They told me that I'm already doing everything I can and that the rest is up to them. But with all the times Voldemort's followers have gotten in this year, I don't see how they can do much of anything except wait! The only thing I can hope for is that Voldemort tells his followers when he's planning to come, and that Snape finds out…" Harry trailed.

"You're trusting Snape with your life?" Ron asked, ignoring that Harry had mentioned the name Voldemort.

"He's tried to save me before and I really believe he's trying to again. I just hope he doesn't get caught spying."

"That must be why he went off on Draco today instead of you," Hermione finally spoke up. "He knew about all of this earlier and took it out on him."

"Well, as much as I hate to say it, I hope he goes back to the way he was. We can't have Malfoy telling his father Snape's acting strange," Harry said. "Listen, I need to get to sleep. It's only the first day back and already we're going to be dragging around tomorrow. I want to be able to concentrate on other things besides this."

The others agreed. They all said goodnight and headed up to the dorms.

Over the course of the next few weeks, nothing much out of the ordinary happened. Harry did his best to push all of the unpleasant thoughts gnawing at him away so he could concentrate on school, and quidditch! They were practicing 3 days a week and every Saturday as the next game was just over a month away. The ball was coming up as well, it was going to be the weekend before the quidditch match, and Harry still hadn't asked anyone yet.

"Harry just do it, don't wait until there's no one left," Ron said one day as they were heading to the great hall for lunch.

"Do what?"

"You know you want to ask Cho to the ball. Every time we walk past her you look at her like you're expecting her to read your mind or something and it just won't work that way!" Ron said laughing.

"I do not!" Harry yelled, but he was laughing too.

"What are you two laughing about?" Hermione asked as she sat down with them.

"Harry is hoping Cho took mind reading lessons from Professor Trelawny, so he doesn't have to ask her to the ball," Ron said smiling. Harry just glared at him.

"Well it wouldn't help if she had," Hermione said, "She wouldn't learn anything from that woman. Honestly, I don't know why they keep her on the staff!"

Just then Cho came up to their table and stood near Harry. Harry looked up at her and forgot how to speak, so he stared. Ron and Hermione looked on in amusement.

"Cho," Hermione finally said, "would you like to join us?"

"Actually, I would like to speak with Harry. Do you have a minute?" she asked looking at him.

"Er…sure," he answered.

"Great, let's go out into the hall."

Harry stood up and glanced at his friends, who were giving him huge smiles, and followed Cho out into the hall.

"Harry," she began, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I really wanted to ask you something."

"Don't worry about it, what did you want to ask?" he said. He held his breath.

"Well, last year when you asked me to the ball, I said no because I had another date," she said, not mentioning Cedric's name, "but I really would have gone with you if you had asked me first. I didn't think you'd ask me again this year because of that, so I'm asking you. Will you go to the ball with me, Harry?"

Harry wanted to jump up and down, but he didn't, he looked at her face and saw that she was nervous. He couldn't understand why someone like Cho would be nervous as anyone she would ask out would surely say yes.

"I would love to go to the ball with you!" he said, trying not to sound too excited.

"Great!" she said, looking very much relieved. "I'll let you get back to your friends, and we can talk about everything later. Thank you!" She smiled at him as she went back into the great hall. Harry just stood there for a minute letting what happened replay in his mind. He turned, to go back inside with the biggest grin on his face. He didn't even need to say anything to his friends back at the table; they could tell what had happened just by looking at him.

The day of the ball came in almost no time at all. Harry and Ron put on their dress robes and waited in the common room for Hermione and Ginny. Harry would be meeting Cho outside the great hall. When the girls were finally ready, they came downstairs. Ron looked at Hermione and once again, his jaw dropped. She had straightened her hair again, and the sides were pulled up with a big clip. There were thin tendrils of hair on either side of her face. She had on lavender dress robes that looked beautiful next to her hair. Ginny also looked very pretty, with her hair piled on top of her head, falling over a giant clip and dark green dress robes.

"Who are you going with, Ginny?" Harry asked her.

"Colin Creevey," she answered, smiling.

Harry just grinned at her, when Colin had joined them, looking ecstatic to be walking in the same group as Harry; they set off for the great hall. Cho was just getting down there when they arrived. Harry broke off from the rest and walked over to her.

She was wearing deep red robes that looked absolutely gorgeous next to her hair, which was left loose, but had tiny, braids here and there throughout it. He held out his arm to her.

"Ready?" he asked with a big smile.

"Yes," she answered, taking his arm and smiling back. They walked over to the others and all went in together.

The great hall was decorated in silver and red. Banners were hanging from the ceiling and lights were shining and even the walls had been changed red with glints of silver here and there. There were no empty tables left, but they found Seamus, Lavender, Dean and Parvati at a table with enough space for them, so they joined them. They ordered their food by saying what they wanted to their plates and watched as it appeared before them. There was soft music playing through dinner and they talked about the food, and the decorations. Then Seamus brought up the subject of the quidditch match next week.

"So Harry, did you ask out the other team's seeker to get inside information?" he asked with a wry smile.

"No, I didn't," Harry said meaningfully. He didn't appreciate the joke.

"I asked Harry to go with me," Cho spoke up.

Seamus obviously wasn't catching the glares Harry was throwing his way. "Oh, so you're trying to get information on our team, huh? Spying on our seeker?"

"Hey Seamus," Ron cut in as Harry opened his mouth to say something else, "I won't be needing your broom anymore."

"Really? Great, why not?" They continued their conversation for a few minutes on Ron's new broom. Harry apologized to Cho, but she brushed it off.

"It's okay," she told him. "As long as you know I didn't ask you for that reason."

"The thought never crossed my mind," he assured her. "Would you, um…would you like to dance?"

"I'd love to."

They got up and walked out to where a few other couples had already begun dancing. Ron and Hermione did the same and soon everyone from their table was up on the floor. As Ron passed by Harry at one point, he nudged him in the ribs.

"Look at who Malfoy brought!" he said stifling a laugh.

Harry looked over and had to hold in a laugh as well. Malfoy was on the dance floor with…

"Eloise Midgen!" Harry whispered turning back to Ron.

"Her nose is still as crooked as ever!" Ron said looking at her. "Wonder how he got stuck with her?"

"Ron!" Hermione scolded him. "Just because you don't find her attractive is no reason to…"

"Sorry, sorry!" he said hurriedly, but he looked over at them one more time and then grinned at Harry.

Malfoy noticed the looks Ron and Harry were giving him and quickly pulled Eloise off the dance floor.

"Maybe she stepped on his foot," Ron said.

"Ron!"

"Sorry…"

Hermione was really beginning to look angry now so Ron steered her away from Harry to show he was going to stop. Harry spent the rest of the evening laughing and talking with Cho. He enjoyed every minute and felt completely at ease for the first time in a very long time. He wished the night would never end.

Harry was walking on air in the days after the ball, which had gone considerably better than last year's. He had a much better time than he ever could have imagined and spent much of his free time thinking about it. His free time, however, wasn't really that long. Classes were giving much more homework as they had their O.W.L.S. coming up, and the quidditch match against Ravenclaw was this weekend, so they practiced every day.

When Saturday finally arrived, Harry got up early and woke up Ron. They both dressed and went down for breakfast. When the rest of the team joined them, they went over the game plan one more time. When it was getting close to game time, they left the school and headed down to the pitch.

When they were out on the field Harry looked over at Cho, when she looked at him, he smiled, but she didn't return it. She just stared at him intently looking very serious. He looked away when Madam Hooch walked out onto the field.

"Potter, Davies, shake hands!" she said. The two captains reached out and shook the other's hand, then stepped back. The whistle blew and they all kicked off. Gryffindor took an early lead with three goals in the first minute. The Ravenclaw chasers were having trouble getting anything past Ron, especially on his new broom. They were able to score when one of their beaters slammed a bludger at Ron's head, which he had to duck to avoid losing. The bludger was followed closely by a chaser, who threw the quaffle as soon as Ron ducked, scoring for their team.

Harry took his eyes away from the game and began searching for the snitch. He saw that Cho was watching him, not looking for the snitch at all on her own, but decided not to think about it. If she wasn't looking for it, it only made the odds better for him to catch it. He heard the game going on around him and Lee Jordan's commentary; the score was now 80 to 20 for Gryffindor.

When Harry spotted the snitch it was high up above the stands, sitting in the air with nothing and no one nearby. He shot off at top speed directly towards it, he hadn't looked at where Cho was or if she had seen it either, he just flew as fast as he could. Suddenly, something slammed into his broom from behind, but it wasn't a bludger. Harry spun wildly in the air for a few seconds before he managed to bring his broom to a halt. Cho was looking at him with a grin on her face.

"Sorry," she sneered at him. He just looked back at her. He never thought she would stoop to cheating. A penalty was called against Ravenclaw and the game continued. Harry had lost sight of the snitch and began his search again, keeping a closer eye on Cho.

It only took a few moments before Harry spotted the snitch again. It was still high in the air, but on the other side of the field. With a quick glance over his shoulder to see where Cho was, he took off after it once again. He could feel her close behind him but didn't look back; he knew he was faster than her and he just needed to concentrate. He was within a few feet, he stretched out his arm groping for it with the tips of his fingers and at last he closed his hand over the snitch! He spun around in the air with his hand raised to see that Cho was sitting very close to him on her broom and smiling at him. At first he thought she was happy for him and smiled back at her. He could see the other members of the team waving at him from the ground beckoning him over. He opened his mouth to tell Cho it was a good game, when something stopped him. Cho's eyes had gone black.

"No…" he whispered looking at her. He was fighting off the fear rising within him, and there was no time to think. He knew he couldn't let this thing near any of his friends so he spun in the air and took off, the shapeshifter took off too. He could hear shouts from everyone on the ground asking what was going on, but he couldn't answer and he had to make sure they stayed safe. He flew towards the Forbidden Forest, the shapeshifter close behind him.

Harry had no intention of entering the forest so as soon as he neared the trees; he pulled hard on his broom and flew off in the opposite direction, passing the shapeshifter in mid-air. She did the same and was on his tail once again. He flew towards the castle and started weaving around in and out of the turrets and towers, but was unable to shake her. Suddenly an idea came to him, he shot straight up into the air and then back down again, aiming straight at the ground. He knew she was following and headed straight for the tree below him, at the last second he pulled up, brushing and chopping through of the top branches of the tree then headed upwards again. He turned around just in time to see her get smacked off her broom by the Whomping Willow.

Harry landed a good distance from the tree and started over towards where the shapeshifter lay, unconscious. By now the rest of the school was up near the castle as they had been following the two of them and many of them started heading over as well. There were some angry shouts coming from the Ravenclaw team directed at Harry but he wasn't paying attention. He wanted to talk to this shapeshifter and find out what had been done with Cho.

Dumbledore broke through the crowd then and called for silence in a great booming voice. Nobody moved.

"Harry," he said immediately, "don't go near her." Apparently Dumbledore had realized what she was as well.

"Everyone please go inside and head straight for your towers!" He shouted to them. Some people began to protest and wanted to make sure Cho was alright, but he told them to go and everything would be explained later.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry yelled running up to him. "We need to talk to her, we need to find out where Cho is!" His voice was filled with concern and urgency.

"We will Harry. Right now I need you to go to your common room and I promise you will be the first person we notify of anything we discover." Harry could see Snape and Lupin over by the shapeshifter lifting her up in the air and taking her inside. They were both keeping a close watch on her, neither taking any chances.

"Alright," he said finally. He didn't want to go anywhere but wherever they were taking that shapeshifter. He had the urge to shake her until she talked but he couldn't. Harry slowly trudged up the steps to the school, and back up to the tower.

When he walked into the common room, everyone immediately began asking him questions about what had happened. He told them that he didn't know, even though it was a lie, because he knew he couldn't tell them about the shapeshifter. When everyone had finally stopped pestering him, he told Ron and Hermione he needed to talk to them. They went into a corner with no one nearby and Harry told them what happened.

"Oh poor Cho!" Hermione cried. "That's horrible! I hope she's okay!"

"So do I," Harry said. He was feeling guiltier than ever before. Why did they keep going after his friends? Why didn't Voldemort just come for him and be done with it? He would gladly switch places with Cho right now, if it meant her safety.

"I know where they have her…" a small voice said from behind them. They all spun around to see Su Chang standing there.

"Su!" Harry said. He had seen her come back after the holidays but hadn't had much of a chance to speak with her. He was glad she was here at all, as he thought her father would never have allowed that to happen, but her mother must've won that argument. Now he was elated she was here, as she would know exactly where the shapeshifters were hiding since she spent so much time there.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she said suddenly turning red.

"No, no! It's okay! I'm glad you heard us! Will you tell us what you know?" Harry asked her anxiously. Su gave him a big smile and lowered her head to hide the fact she was blushing. She sat down with them and started speaking quietly.

"What I can tell you is that the night they took me, we went outside the castle over to the tree that everyone calls the Whomping Willow. There is a passageway underneath it that leads to an old house. They kept me in one of the rooms there the whole time and every once in a while, one of them would come in and touch my arm for a few minutes, then leave."

"But Dumbledore said they searched the Shrieking Shack!" Ron said sounding confused.

"He did," Su said before anyone could say anything else. "He was there with some of the other professors. They didn't see me though, they didn't see anyone."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. "They just walked right by you?"

"Yes," Su answered in a small voice. She was beginning to look like she was sorry she had brought it up and Harry felt bad for her. He knew what it felt like to have to relive painful and scary experiences.

"Su," he began, "I know you don't want to think about all of this, but it's the only way we have of finding out where Cho is. Will you please go on?" She looked up at him and nodded, then continued.

"The whole time I was there, they just left me locked in a room. Then one night, one of them came back in a big rush yelling at all the others, telling them someone was coming and they had to hide. One of them came in and got me and brought me out to where all the others were. They tied me up and put a gag in my mouth and then they all just huddled together, standing perfectly still. I didn't know what was going on, but soon I heard voices and Dumbledore came in with a few other people. I tried to get their attention but I couldn't make any noise, and when they looked at me, they just didn't do anything! They couldn't see me!" Su was crying now, and they all looked at her in horror. Harry put his arm around her and tried to get her to calm down. She buried her face in his sweater and wept.

"Su, I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry," he kept telling her. When she seemed a bit calmer she pulled away from him and apologized.

"Don't be sorry, for anything," he told her. "I know why the sorting hat put you in Gryffindor, you were very brave to have gone through all that." This made her smile and he smiled back.

"So there were a lot of shapeshifters then?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. Every so often I would see one of them in the shape of a student, once even you," she said looking at Hermione. "But I was the only one they kept there. The shapeshifters weren't the only ones there, though. There were other wizards that seemed to be giving the shapeshifters their orders, and these wizards were all following one in particular. The one with the red eyes, he was the scariest of any of them."

Harry's insides felt like lead. He knew she meant Voldemort. This whole time he had been so close to him, and they never knew.

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry with utter terror in their eyes.

"Harry! He's so close! We have to tell someone now before it's too late!" Hermione said urgently.

"We have to tell someone and we have to get Cho out of there," Harry said. "If Voldemort does anything to her –"

"What!" Su cried. "You-Know-Who? That's who that was?" She was completely shocked at hearing this, but went on. "Why is he here? Why did he need me?"

"To get to Harry," Ron answered. Su looked at Ron and then back at Harry.

"You shouldn't be here then!" she said fiercely to Harry.

"I have nowhere else to go," Harry told her. "He probably knows where the Dursley's live by now, this is the only other place I have."

"Let's go to Dumbledore now. We can tell him about where they are hiding and how they are doing something to make it so you can't see them," Hermione said.

"Or sense them," Ron added. "You'd think they'd be able to feel all the dark magic in that place." The three of them stood up to go, and Su looked at them.

"Do you want me to come too?" she asked.

"No, you don't have to come. I don't want you to have to go through all that again. We'll tell Dumbledore what you told us and if he needs anything else then he'll ask you," Harry told her. She nodded and headed for the stairs to go up to the girls' dorm.

They turned, then and headed for the portrait hole, but just as they got there, it opened. Professor McGonagall walked in.

"Where do you three think you're going?" she asked crisply. "I certainly hope you weren't going to leave this room as you were told to remain here."

"Professor, we needed to tell someone, we know where Cho is!" Harry said quickly.

McGonagall just looked at him for a moment.

"So do we Mr. Potter. She was found in the great hall on the Ravenclaw table, almost the same way Su was."

The three of them stood there staring at her. Then Harry spoke first.

"Can I see her? Is she okay?"

"She is fine and no one is allowed to see her yet. I just came here to let you know because Dumbledore asked me to. Now I must be getting back…"

"Professor," Hermione cut in, "there's more that we need to tell you! Please can we go see Dumbledore?"

McGonagall looked at her sternly. She didn't appreciate being interrupted but saw that whatever they had to say was important.

"Alright, I will take you to Dumbledore's office. Quickly please."

They followed her out through the portrait hole and through the halls until they were at the entrance for the office. She said the password and ushered them inside. Everyone was there, waiting for McGonagall to return, so they were surprised to see Harry, Ron and Hermione with her.

"Sorry Headmaster but they have some information for us. I thought it best to bring them right away," she explained.

"Quite alright, Minerva. Please, sit down you three. What have you found out for us now?" Dumbledore asked.

"Voldemort is in the Shrieking Shack," Harry said, standing up.

"We searched there, Harry," Lupin said. "There wasn't anyone there."

"That's because they didn't want to be seen," he replied. He went on and told them everything that Su had said in the common room. When he was finished he sat down and waited for the response.

"That's very powerful magic that can block not only our vision but our senses as well," McGonagall said. "How is it possible for so many of them to have been there and we couldn't tell?"

"How is it we have one of them among us and he never bothered to mention this?" Sirius spoke up. He was looking directly at Snape with an expression of hatred on his face. Snape returned the look.

"Sirius! I've already told you I trust Severus. We will not have this discussion again," Dumbledore said.

"But he must have known! Don't you see that? He even came with us when we went to search the shack! Why didn't you say anything then? You let that poor girl suffer and now they've gotten to another student!" Sirius screamed.

"I couldn't tell you or they would've known how you found out! I had to keep quiet." Snape answered him, surprisingly calm.

"That's enough!" Dumbledore said. "No more of this. We have other things to worry about so both of you start working together!"

"Why are they giving them back?" Hermione spoke up then.

"Who?" Lupin asked.

"The students," Hermione explained. "They had Su for such a long time, but when they no longer needed her, they gave her back. Then with Cho, though I don't know how long they had her for, they gave her back. It's not that I don't like this, it's just I would've expected they would be…well…dead."

Everyone in the room looked at her, but no one had any explanation. Then Harry broke the silence.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

In the weeks following they decided to do some research, specifically on what type of spell could be done so that the person casting it can't be seen or sensed. It seemed that the shapeshifter they had been able to get their hands on had gone into a comatose state. Lupin had told them it was of no use to them at all. After a month of reading and finding nothing they were ready to give up.

"It's just not here!" Ron said. "I swear we've looked through every book in the library, and we can't find a bloody thing!"

"Well we haven't looked in the restricted section," Hermione said.

"I don't think it's there either," Harry said. "I mean, if it were then surely Dumbledore would know. They all seemed a bit surprised when we told them about it."

"I didn't think Snape looked surprised at all," Ron put in.

"Well you heard his reason for not telling," Harry said.

"Who is he supposed to be spying for here?" Ron asked, suddenly angry. "Dumbledore sent him to spy on You-Know-Who so we'd have all this information and he hasn't given it to us!"

"I think I agree with Ron, Harry," Hermione said.

"Well I don't," Harry said flatly. "He warned me that day in Diagon Alley because he didn't think he'd be able to later. He helped me after that death eater attacked and took Mrs. Figg. He even turned on Malfoy just after he found out Voldemort's real plan. I know that's not much but for Snape that's saying something. Dumbledore has also never shown anything but trust for him and that makes me believe him even more. If there are things he can't tell us because it'll show he's a spy then so be it, if in the long run it gives us the upper hand."

They looked skeptically at Harry but didn't argue. They got up to leave the library and go back to the common room, but just as they were at the door they stopped. Cho was standing there about to come in. She looked at them and nodded, then walked past. Harry told the others he would meet up with them later and followed Cho back into the library.

"Cho," Harry said coming up to her table. "Can I sit down?"

She nodded at an empty seat and he took it. When he looked at her again, she was just staring back at him. She seemed very tired.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. "I wasn't allowed to come to see you in the hospital wing, and I haven't seen you in the halls, though I have been looking."

"To tell you the truth, that's partly my fault. I was trying to avoid you…"

"I know I'm so sorry for what happened," he blurted out quickly. Of course she'd been avoiding him because of what happened to her. "It was all my fault…" Suddenly he felt very ashamed and lowered his head so she wouldn't see how read his face was getting.

"That's not what I was going to say. I don't blame you for what happened at all, why would you think that?"

He looked up at her and saw she was smiling at him, which was a huge relief.

"So why have you been avoiding me then?" he asked. Now it was her turn to lower her head.

"I've been avoiding you because I didn't want you to see me like this," she said sheepishly

"See you like what?" he asked, clearly confused.

"It's just that I've been so tired since…since it happened and I feel very, drained. I just didn't want you to see that so I avoided you." Harry's smile widened and when she looked at him and saw this, she smiled too.

"You don't have to worry about things like that," Harry told her. "I always think you look great."

Cho gave him the most brilliantly beautiful smile, which made his heart swell; she reached forward and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you, Harry," was all she said. He hugged her back, and they stayed that way for a few seconds.

"I better get back upstairs," Harry said as they leaned back away from each other.

"Yes and I need to get back to work," she said glancing at her stack of books. They both said goodbye and gave tiny waves, then Harry turned and left the library with a very big grin on his face.

Spring came and a feeling of calmness settled over the school. Classes went on as scheduled and everyone was studying for finals. Harry, Ron and the rest of the team were also practicing for the quidditch final in June. It was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup, so Harry had them out on the pitch four nights a week and Saturday mornings.

They also hadn't given up on their search for the mysterious spell the shapeshifters had used. Everyday they checked with Lupin to see if Dumbledore had any information and everyday they were told he was looking into it. One day after another horrible potions lesson, Harry decided he wanted to ask Snape. He packed up his things very slowly and told his friends he would catch up with them and to go on ahead. Soon he was alone in the classroom with Snape.

"Does it normally take you this long to leave, Mr. Potter? Usually you are one of the first people out of this class," Snape said glaring at him.

"Do you know how they did it?" He blurted out quickly. "The shapeshifters, I mean. Do you know how they did that spell?"

Snape stared at him for a few minutes and Harry was about to turn and leave, when he said:

"Not even the Dark Lord knows how they did it. It is something that only shapeshifters can perform and they refuse to share the secret with any other wizard. I would assume because it's one of the few things they can do that other wizards cannot."

"So then, there's no way to break it, or perform a counter curse, or anything?"

"No there isn't."

"Alright…um…thanks," Harry said. He turned around and walked towards the door, but stopped when he heard Snape speak again.

"I will tell one thing, no other magic can be used while they are doing this. If even the simplest of spells is cast while they are putting up their…shield, then it will cease to work and they can be seen."

He looked at Harry for a moment more then busied himself with papers on his desk. Harry mumbled thank you again, and walked out of the classroom.

Harry went back up to the common room and headed directly over to where Ron and Hermione were sitting.

"What did you ask him?" Hermione asked him as he sat down.

"If there was a way to break the spell that the shapeshifters use to create their shield," he told them.

"Shield?" she asked.

"That's what Snape called it."

"And…?" Ron prompted.

"No, not from outside anyway. But if someone inside the shield uses magic of any other kind, no matter how small, it will break it."

"Well, that's something anyway," Hermione said. "That must be why they had to tie up Su. They couldn't use magic to keep her still or they wouldn't have been able to stay hidden."

"So you must not be stuck inside it then," Ron said. "It's just an illusion, not anything physical. They had to make sure she was unable to get away because if she were free she would've been able to walk over to everyone looking for her."

"Alright, basically what we're saying is that they are creating an illusion to shield themselves from outsiders. No one can see them or sense them while they're under this shield but anyone that's in it can see out, or step out if they wanted to. And the only way to break the illusion is to use magic while inside of it. Does that cover everything?" Hermione said quickly.

"Um…yes, I think so," Harry said trying to process everything she had just said.

"Then how are we ever going to find them? Unless we get under the shield to do magic then it won't matter how many times we go to the Shrieking Shack we won't be able to see them!" Ron said loudly.

"I don't know," Harry said.

Fred and George came over then to remind them about practice that afternoon. Harry and Ron told Hermione they'd see her later, grabbed their brooms, and left the tower.

The day of the quidditch final arrived at last. Harry, Ron and the rest of the team woke up early to make sure they had time to go over everything again. They met in the great hall and had their discussion over breakfast. Soon the hall was filled with students, excited about the match. Hermione and Ginny came over and sat next to Harry and Ron, and Su Chang walked over to them.

"I just wanted to say good luck to you all, not that you'll need it, I saw how well you played last time," she said smiling at them.

"Thanks Su!" Harry said returning the smile. She blushed a bit and then turned and went back to where she had been sitting.

"I think she's a little young for you, 'ey Potter? But I guess after what you did to your last girlfriend you have to go for the dumb ones."

Harry turned around to see Malfoy sneering at him. Crabbe and Goyle were, as always, close behind him.

"You have no idea what you're talking about Malfoy! Go back and sit with the rest of your slimy team!"

"Well, we all watched you trick her into following you at the last match, you got her knocked off her broom by that horrible tree."

"Why don't you just shut up?" Ron yelled at him. "Harry's right you have no idea what you're talking about and none of us want to hear you babble on all day!"

"Are you gonna make me, Weasley?" Malfoy asked. Crabbe and Goyle took their cues and began cracking their knuckles and snickering.

"You're not thinking about where you're standing right now," Angelina spoke up from a few seats down. "There are a lot more of us than you, I suggest you save your energy for the game and head back to your seats now." She stared at them and didn't flinch. Finally they turned away, muttering, and went back to there table. Harry looked at Angelina and she was grinning at him.

"Well as much as I was enjoying that little discussion," George spoke up, "I think we better be off now. Don't want to be late for the final."

They all agreed that they should be on their way, so they stood up together and headed for the pitch.

"Potter, Zabini, shake hands!" Madam Hooch cried. Harry stepped forward and shook hands with the new Slytherin captain, Blaise Zabini. He glanced at Malfoy who was glaring at Blaise, obviously upset that he wasn't made captain. Then the whistle blew, and they all kicked off into the air.

Harry noticed immediately that Malfoy was tailing him everywhere he moved. He ignored him and searched for the snitch. Gryffindor had already taken the lead by 50 points and the Slytherin team was having a hard time keeping up. Harry spun around to go back the other way, and was cut off Malfoy.

"What are you doing?" Harry hissed at him. "Don't you think you should be looking for the snitch? You're team has no chance of beating us with their…skills."

"I am looking, and making sure you have a tough time of it as well. If you spot the snitch you're gonna have to go around me, I'm not letting you pass."

Harry spun a little to the left to move away from him, but Malfoy cut him off again. He tried backing up; Malfoy kept in front of him.

"Neither of us is going to catch it this way, Malfoy!"

"I'm sure one of us will," Malfoy said with a smirk. Harry started moving around sporadically, just trying to shake him, but no matter where he stopped he couldn't get a look anywhere before Malfoy was in front of him again. Then something happened, just as Harry was getting ready to take off again, the snitch flew in between them, and stopped.

They both looked at each other for a moment in shock before lunging, Malfoy went to close his fingers around it, but Harry, instead of grabbing for it, smacked it away from Malfoy with his right hand, then caught it with his left. He gave Malfoy a big grin before shooting up over the crowd with the snitch raised above his head. The crowd broke into a deafening roar and Harry stayed up there for a few moments before coming down to join his friends. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup again.

The next few hours were spent in celebration in the Gryffindor common room. Everyone was still in disbelief over the way the game ended, as the snitch had never been caught like that before. All night Harry had people coming over and congratulating him and this time, he enjoyed the attention. He just kept picturing the look on Malfoy's face as he smacked the snitch away from him.

All good things must come to an end though, as the night got older, people started drifting upstairs to go to bed. Harry, Ron and Hermione were some of the last to go. Harry was filled with nothing with pleasant thought when he got into his four-poster and was dreaming peacefully moments after he laid down. So when he was shaken awake some time later after having very little sleep, he tried to push the person away.

"Harry, get up! Now Harry!"

"What…what is it? Its too early…" he said groggily.

"No you have to, come on!"

Harry felt the covers being yanked off of him. He pulled his glasses of the side table and looked at who was next to him.

"Hermione! What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night!" Harry exclaimed.

"You have to come quickly, it's very important!" she said urgently.

"Alright, I'll wake Ron," Harry said, heading over to him.

"No!" she whispered fiercely.

"Why not?" he asked turning back to her. He was beginning to feel suspicious.

"I – I just don't want to involve him, it's not necessary."

Harry looked at her for a minute, looked directly into her eyes. She held his gaze without flinching, and they stayed like this for a few moments. Finally Harry was convinced it was really Hermione. He got dressed quickly, and met her downstairs in the common room.

When he got downstairs, Hermione was waiting for him.

"Come on Harry, we have to go," she said to him.

"Hermione, will you please just tell me what this is about? Where're we going?"

"We're going down to Snape's office."

"What? Why? What's down there?"

"You just have to come, please it's very important!" she pleaded with him.

He nodded at her and they left, though he was feeling very uneasy about the whole thing. They headed down to the dungeon area in silence. Hermione was moving very quickly and Harry had to trot to keep up with her. Just as they were in view of the office, another thought occurred to Harry, making him stop in his tracks.

"Hermione, who told you we needed to come down here?"

"What?" she asked, looking very anxious.

"Who came and told you, in the middle of the night, that we needed to come to Snape's office?"

"Well, I…I…" she trailed off. She appeared a bit confused for a moment. Then the next second, she fell to her knees clutching her head in pain.

"Hermione!" he yelled rushing to her side, but she had passed out from the pain. He looked around for a minute, unsure what to do, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Very clever, Mr. Potter. You were able to break her hold, but too late, I'm afraid."

Harry spun around to see Lucius Malfoy standing behind him with…

"Snape!"

"Hello Mr. Potter," Snape said grinning at him. "Glad you could join us. I wish we had time for pleasantries but unfortunately we don't. The Dark Lord is very anxious to see you, so we must be on our way, now."


	7. Chapter 7

Harry jumped up and reached for his wand.

"Accio!"

The wand flew out of Harry's pocked and into Lucius' hand.

"I think this will be a lot easier if you just cooperate," he said looking at Harry. "There is nothing you can do to stop us, now let's go."

Snape waved his wand and Hermione was floating in the air. Then they heard footsteps coming down the hall. Harry looked up to see Lupin, Cho and Su walking towards them.

"Lupin!" He called. "Cho, Su! Stay back!" They didn't seem to pay any attention to him though, and kept walking.

"It's about time you arrived, we were going to leave without you," Lucius said.

Harry just stood there in a daze, what was going on? He didn't want to believe Snape would betray Dumbledore but he could, he could not believe, however, that Lupin would.

"Professor Lupin, Remus, please answer me! Why are you doing this?"

Lupin looked at him for a moment and seemed almost confused for a moment, much the same way Hermione had, then he shook it off, as if Harry hadn't said anything at all.

"You will be quiet now or I will make you be quiet!" Lucius screamed at him. He gave Harry a very hard shove then and they all began walking. There were two large cloaked figures with them that Harry hadn't noticed before, shapeshifters. They left the castle and towards the Whomping Willow. One of the shapeshifters became a cat, and pushed the knob on the tree that would allow them to enter the passage underneath it.

Harry gave one last look at the school, before stepping down into the darkness.

They walked for over an hour and Harry was quickly losing hope. Many of the people he trusted seemed to be against him, but he didn't know why. He was walking at the front of the group, Lucius and Snape right behind him. Snape still had Hermione floating along beside him, and at the very back were the two shapeshifters. He was glad that Hermione hadn't let him wake up Ron or he'd be stuck in this mess as well, or worse. He knew that she must have been put under a spell, but he didn't know what one. The Imperius Curse could make you do things you didn't want to, but no one was close enough to Hermione to be using it until they were almost at Snape's office.

Thinking of Snape sent a sudden surge of anger through Harry. He should've listened to Ron and Hermione from the start, but he had been so sure he could trust him.

"Why did you do it, why did you betray Dumbledore?" he said before he could stop himself, glaring at Snape.

"Be quiet, boy!" Lucius snapped at him.

Harry continued to stare at Snape, but he wouldn't return the look. Snape kept his eyes in front of him and kept walking.

"What did you do to get all of them to come?" he said to Lucius while nodding at his friends.

"I didn't do anything," Lucius snapped at him.

"Well then who did? They aren't working for Voldemort like him," he said throwing a look at Snape.

"I think you better turn around and close your mouth now. I will not answer any of your questions so you can stop asking."

Harry glared at him, but turned around. He couldn't figure out how to help his friends if he didn't know what was wrong. He didn't even know exactly what he had done to break Hermione of whatever spell she had been under, besides talk to her.

Hermione started to stir all of a sudden and Harry spun around to look at her. Snape brought her back down to the ground and she looked for a moment as if she were very confused. Then she began to walk with the rest of them. He wanted to talk to her and opened his mouth to say something, but a glance at Lucius told him it was not a good idea. He closed his mouth and faced forward again. They were almost at the end of the passage now.

When they finally stepped through into the Shrieking Shack, Harry saw four more shapeshifters and several death eaters waiting for them. Lucius went to them and started whispering quietly then turned and looked at Harry.

"We will wait here until our master comes. He will be very pleased to see you," he said with a wicked smile. Harry felt someone grab him roughly from behind, and they steered him away from everyone. They shoved him hard into a tiny room and slammed the door behind him. Harry heard a lock click, then, he turned to look at his surroundings.

He was in a dark room with no windows, no furniture and no lights. The only way out was the way he just came in and even if he could pick the lock he didn't have any way to get past everyone on the other side of the door. He paced the room, he felt if he didn't do something the terror in his gut was going to consume him and he needed to think. Finally the exhaustion he was feeling at having little sleep and then the long walk through the passage overcame him and he leaned up against the wall and slid down to the floor.

He hoped his friends were okay and wondered why they were here at all and what spell they were under. Then something occurred to him.

"The shapeshifters!" he said aloud. "They're the ones controlling Hermione and the others!"

Hermione, Lupin, Cho and Su were all used by the shapeshifters to trick him at one point or another and for some reason that allowed them to have control of his friends now. Harry couldn't believe he didn't figure this out sooner, but it was the only explanation. Even Lucius admitted he did nothing when Harry asked him about his friends' behavior.

"That's why they've been returning the students alive," he said to himself.

The relief he felt at knowing his friends had not betrayed him was short-lived however. He still had no way to help them and he was very outnumbered. He got up then because he needed to walk again, but stopped when he heard a noise. Someone was at the door.

The door swung open and Lucius Malfoy strode in. He grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him out into the room where everyone else was waiting. Harry didn't see the reason he was brought out there so he asked.

"What's going on?"

"Quiet!" Malfoy spat at him. He turned back to the shapeshifter in front of him.

"What should we do with them?" the shapeshifter asked pointing to Harry's friends.

"Release them, for now. They shouldn't have enough energy to even stay awake after this amount of time. And you can't be using your powers to hold them under the shield."

Harry watched as the shapeshifter nodded and turned to the others. After a moment his friends all seemed to be coming out of a trance of some sort, but before they could even realize where they were, they slumped to the floor, unconscious.

"Now put up the shield," Lucius told them. The shapeshifters all got very close to one another, and began whispering something Harry couldn't understand.

"Someone's coming, aren't they?" Harry asked looking up at Lucius.

"Yes they are, but they'll be no help to you," Lucius said to him as Snape came up beside him. Harry could see the air changing; it was as if everything around him was under intense heat, though he couldn't feel it. He knew it must be the shield taking its form.

"You better do it now, before it's too late," Lucius said grinning at Snape and nodding towards the shield.

Harry looked back and forth between them and watched as Snape pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry. He saw the shield flicker for a moment and in the next instant he was tied up on the floor.

"You're a coward," he said fiercely glaring at Snape, who bent down and shoved a gag in Harry's mouth. Snape stared at him, straight into his eyes, for just a second and then stood up and waited with the others.

The wait wasn't long, after only a few minutes, Sirius walked into the room.

Harry struggled against his bindings; he knew if he could make any real noise, he could get Sirius to at least realize he was there. But the feeble noises he was able to make were drowned out by the wind whipping against the house. Sirius was holding his wand out in front of him with the tip lit, searching all about the room slowly.

Harry looked around wildly for something to move, maybe kick over, anything, to get Sirius' attention. The only thing near him was a huge trunk on his right side. He tried pushing it by leaning into it with his shoulder, but he couldn't get it to budge. He decided to try moving backwards and using his legs. He was able to shimmy over away from the trunk and then swung his legs around so it was directly in front of him. He lifted up his legs and began to push. The trunk moved a bit, but didn't make much noise. Harry gave up and decided to just kick it, he leaned back raised his legs in the air, but felt someone grab him by the arms and pull him away. He was shoved against the wall and looked up to see Snape.

"Do you want them to catch him?" he whispered fiercely at Harry.

Harry just glared at him until what he said began to sink in. What had he been doing? If Sirius had found out then he would just be in this mess right along with him. He'd never be able to defeat a room full of shapeshifters and death eaters on his own. Harry stared after Snape feeling confused, and noticed that Lucius was looking at him the same way, but he turned his attention back to Sirius, and Harry did the same.

Sirius was now coming around to face the shield, he didn't appear to notice anything different even though he was staring at all of them. He kept his wand out in front of him and still kept moving it very slowly. When it was pointed directly at Harry, the tip of the wand, which was white, turned a very bright red. Sirius stayed there in that position, staring straight in front of him. Harry saw him look directly into his eyes, even though he knew Sirius couldn't possibly see him.

After a few more seconds, Sirius lowered his wand, turned and headed back towards the passage, never bothering to search the rest of the room.

Harry watched Sirius go and surprisingly felt relieved. He hadn't been thinking about what would happen if he had managed to get his attention and almost got Sirius trapped as well. Why had Snape told him? Did he really care if Sirius was caught or not? It was all very confusing and Harry had no idea who to trust. He watched as the shield slowly faded around them.

"Something happened with his wand, did you see it Severus?" Lucius asked Snape.

"I noticed it, though I'm not sure what it was," he answered.

"Well I feel that we are not safe staying here much longer. As soon as our master arrives we must be quick and get everyone out of here. We can't chance that muggle-loving fool Dumbledore showing up and ruining everything. And we can't use the shield during the ceremony."

"No we can't, can we…" Snape said absent-mindedly. He started to walk over towards Harry.

"Leave him. I want him where we can see him. I don't know what Black did at the end there that caused his wand to change, but I do know it was pointed at him," Lucius said looking at Harry. "If we put him out of our site and then he somehow gets free our master will be most displeased, now let's get back to work."

Snape looked as if he was going to argue, but nodded instead and followed Lucius over to a table on the opposite side of the room. Harry could barely see what they were doing, but it looked like there were ingredients for some sort of potion spread out all over the table. He was afraid to think about what the potion would be used for. He looked over at his friends, who were still unconscious and wished he hadn't gotten them into this mess, then leaned back against the wall and waited, not having the slightest idea how to escape.

Soon everyone in the house began to move about quickly, almost nervously. Lucius and Snape scrambled to finish what they were doing then turned and looked at the door.

"He's here," Lucius breathed.

Harry turned too and watched as the door slowly opened, and as it did his scar exploded in agony. He doubled over and pushed his head into his knees trying to do anything to soothe the pain. When he looked up again, he saw a dark figure standing in the doorway, with its fiery red eyes staring straight back at Harry.

Lord Voldemort had arrived.

"Harry Potter. We finally meet again," said a cold raspy voice. Voldemort was standing over Harry looking down at him. He raised his wand and Harry was floating upright in front of him. "We shall not be dueling this time, boy. I don't have time for games right now. You have something that I need and I will take it from you tonight."

Harry could barely keep eye contact with him, his eyes were blurring badly from the pain and he had to fight to keep his head up. Then he felt himself fall as Voldemort released his hold on him. He hit the floor hard and just lay there, not wanting to move.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes my lord," Lucius answered, "everything is prepared, but we dare not do it here. I fear Dumbledore knows that we're here and he'll disrupt our plans."

"How would he know?" Voldemort asked, turning to Snape.

"Sirius Black came here tonight looking for Mr. Potter and his friends, no doubt. His wand was lit so he could see better but when he pointed it at him," he said nodding towards Harry, "it turned red. Then he left without searching anything else." Voldemort was silent for a moment as if considering this.

"I hadn't planned on having the ceremony here anyway so this changes nothing. Pack up everything at once, we will leave immediately."

They both nodded at him and began hastily putting everything on the table into sacks. Voldemort turned to look around the room, he glanced at Harry and then his eyes came to rest on Harry's friends.

"Your friends will come in quite useful this evening," he said mockingly. "They will die of course, but because of them I will live on. This potion we're doing, it requires sacrifices you see. I couldn't very well go killing off my loyal servants so I thought why not use them."

Harry stared at him, pleading. He knew his friends were being used to get him here but he never knew they would be needed for Voldemort's change. He was desperately trying to free himself now, to do anything, rather than just sit by and let this happen. Voldemort just watched him and laughed.

"Master, we are ready," Lucius said from behind him.

"Good."

He leaned down towards Harry and put his finger on his scar. Harry felt the pain in his head increase tremendously and screamed through the gag in his mouth. He fought to stay conscious as long as possible but couldn't hold on. He felt himself fading out and slipped into darkness.

When he woke up some time later his head ached quite badly and it took him a few minutes to remember everything that had happened. He looked around wildly and saw death eaters moving about, but none of them were near him. They were in the same graveyard as last year, for the rebirth ceremony. Harry saw that he wasn't tied up anymore, and jumped up from the ground. His first thought was to just run, but then he remembered his friends and looked around for them.

"Looking for your friends?"

Harry spun around to see Snape behind him. He wanted to rush at him and hit him with all of his strength, but he didn't. He needed to know what was going on.

"Where are they? What has he done with them?" Harry asked forcefully.

"They are still alive, but not for long. He needs five people besides you for this potion to work. Once the first part is ready, he will take a few drops of your blood and put it in the potion; then he will drink from it, next your friends' blood will be drained, and put in as well. You will drink from it and it will kill you, and he will be free to enter your body."

"Why are you telling me this?" Harry asked him.

"So that you know what's coming, so that we can stop it."

"You want to stop it? Then why did you…?"

"Of course I want to stop it!" Snape cut him off.

Harry looked at him not really sure what to believe.

"I know it looked like I was betraying Dumbledore, and you. I didn't have any choice though, when Lucius came with the shapeshifters and told me what was happening, I had to go along with it. He would have killed me then if I hadn't and you'd be here still."

Harry stood there looking at him wanting very badly to believe him. He needed to know that he wasn't alone in this.

"Are you telling me the truth?" he asked.

"Yes," he answered without hesitation. Harry watched him for a few moments longer, then nodded.

"So we need to figure out a way to stop this and save the others," Harry said. "You said he needed five people to drain, and a few drops of blood from me, but he only has four of my friends. Who's the fifth person?"

"I don't know…"

"I can tell you that."

They both turned and saw Lucius Malfoy standing nearby.

"We're going to use the spy. The one Dumbledore planted with us a year ago. Severus Snape."

Harry looked back and forth between the two, as Snape looked at Lucius in disbelief. Lucius just stared back at him, with a wicked grin on his face.

"What are you talking about?" Snape hissed at him.

"You know what I'm talking about. You were sent to spy on our master from that muggle-loving freak! But the Dark Lord was too smart for you. He knew, because you didn't come last year after his rebirth, that he couldn't trust you. He made all of us treat you as though we believed you, until the time was right, and it is now."

They both stood with their eyes locked for what felt like an eternity, then, they both went for their wands. Lucius got his out, but Snape was faster.

"Stupefy!"

Lucius hit the ground, unconscious. Snape hurried over to him and grabbed Harry's wand, he turned to give it to him. Harry reached out to take it but felt the pain in his scar rush back at him from nowhere; he fell to the ground on his knees and heard another voice speak.

"Imperio!"

Harry looked up to see Snape walking away from him, towards where the other voice had come from. He turned his head to see Voldemort standing nearby.

"Now we can't have you ruining everything, can we Severus? Give the wand to me." Snape held out the wand and Voldemort took it.

"Wormtail!" he shouted. Harry saw for the first time, that Wormtail was standing just behind Voldemort.

"Y-yes…My Lord?" he asked timidly.

"Hold onto this. Let no one near it, do you understand me?"

"Of c-c-course. No one sh-shall touch it, I swear it."

"Good. You boy, will wait here until we are ready," Voldemort said looking at Harry. "If you choose to run, I will kill your friends and find new sacrifices for when you are caught. And believe me, you can't hide. I will always find you." He turned away quickly with Wormtail and Snape following him, leaving Lucius where he was laying.

Harry sat down against one of the gravestones, the pain in his head subsiding a little. He couldn't run; he had to get his friends out of this. There seemed to be no options left though. He looked around at the death eaters and saw they were near a very large cauldron, but he didn't want to think about what was in it, so he looked away. His eye was caught by something laying a few feet from him, he moved closer to get a better look, and saw it was a dead baby rat.

A feeling of sadness swept over him for a reason he couldn't explain. It was just a baby, no chance at all in life before it was horribly killed. It was also done recently as the gash in its stomach was still bleeding freely. He stared for a few more moments, fixated, when he realized there was an unpleasant pressure in his side. He shoved his hand in his pocket to see what he'd been leaning on, and pulled out his father's pocket watch.

He looked at it longingly. Wanting so much to know his parents, and wondering if that would happen tonight. But then he thought of Cho and Hermione and all his friends, and how they didn't deserve this. Even if it cost him his life, he must find a way to save them.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone walking up to him. He looked up to see Wormtail in front of him.

"It's time. You will come now," he said giving Harry a look of disgust. Harry just nodded and slid the watch back into his pocket. Wormtail began walking towards the others, and Harry followed him.

When he reached the crowd of death eaters, Wormtail shoved him to the front right next to the cauldron. He looked over and saw his friends were already there, and they had been put into the partial body bind so they couldn't run. Their faces were all fearful and Su was crying a little. Harry wanted so badly to help them, but had no means of doing so. Then for the third time that day, he felt his scar begin to burn. He forced himself to remain standing even though the pain was unbearable. Voldemort stepped into view and stopped right next to Harry.

"This is it Harry Potter. You will die today and in doing so you will ensure that I live forever." Voldemort looked directly at Harry then and laughed, a high, icy, wicked sound that pierced the air.

"You're wrong," Harry said to him. "You _will_ die, even if I'm not the one to kill you."

"Perhaps you are referring to you're precious headmaster. Dumbledore is weak. I will have no trouble defeating him, which is why he hasn't come for me, I'm sure."

"He isn't weak and you know it! That's why you stay hidden. That's why you had to hold this ceremony away from Hogwart's! You were AFRAID he would show up and ruin everything!" Harry screamed at him.

Voldemort gave Harry a glare that would kill.

"Enough of this! We will begin now!" he yelled looking at Harry. Harry shoved his hands in his pockets and squeezed his father's watch. He wished there were something he had, anything to stop this from happening.

Voldemort turned away and took something that Wormtail was holding out to him, when he turned back Harry saw it was a knife.

"You are going to take some of your blood and put it in the cauldron," Voldemort said to him. "I am warning you not to try anything stupid, or you will regret it."

Harry looked at the knife and then reached up and took it, his hand brushed against Voldemort's skin and his scar seared with pain. He pulled back quickly and his vision cleared again. His first impulse was to just toss the knife away, but he knew that would do no good. He also couldn't fight a group of wizards with it so that wasn't even worth considering. He just stood there. Frozen to the spot.

"Do it now boy!"

Voldemort's voice made him react. He took his hand out of his pocket and closed it over the knife, then pulled downwards. When he removed the knife there was blood all over it and Harry just stared at it.

"Put it in…"

He moved his arm, almost mechanically and let several drops of blood fall into the cauldron. Then watched as it changed color from a dark green, to bright red.

Voldemort looked at it with what must have been happiness and his red eyes were glowing. Wormtail rushed forward and put some of the potion into a bowl, then handed it to his master and Harry watched, feeling sick, as Voldemort drank the potion.

As soon as he consumed what was in the bowl, he began to take on a dark red glow. He looked very eerie silhouetted against the night sky.

"I feel it working…" he hissed. Harry watched in horror, as Voldemort seemed to visibly grow stronger.

"Bring them forward," he said pointing at Harry's friends. "They must die so their blood can be put into the potion." Several death eaters grabbed hold of them and began dragging them over to the cauldron.

"Then you will drink the potion, and all will be complete," Voldemort said grinning at Harry. Harry stood there unable to move, fixated on what was going on around him. Then he saw something happen. Voldemort's face contorted with pain, and he fell to the ground. Several death eaters rushed to his aid but he pushed them aside.

Harry felt the intense pain in his head increase but fought to stay standing. He watched as Voldemort dragged himself to his feet and turned to face Harry.

"What did you do?" he asked in a deadly voice.

Harry just stared at him through the blinding haze in his head and then his mouth turned up in a little smirk. He held up his hand to Voldemort, covered in blood, then he took it and wiped it on his robes. When he held it up again there were no marks, cuts or scratches.

Voldemort screamed in rage as he realized the blood in the potion was not Harry's. He looked again as Harry reached his hand into his pocket and pulled something out. He tossed it in front of Voldemort who looked down and saw a dead baby rat.

"You will pay for this!" Voldemort screamed. Still bent over in pain from how the potion was affecting him, he reached in his robes, pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry.

"Crucio!"

Harry was thrown to the ground and the pain he was feeling in his scar combined with this was almost too much to take. He screamed louder then ever before and prayed that it would just end. Finally, as he was losing consciousness, it stopped. He lay there with his eyes closed taking long shallow gasps of air.

He felt someone step close to him and opened his eyes slightly to see who it was.

"Get up," a cold voice said.

Harry didn't think he had any strength left, but forced himself to move. He stood up slowly, barely able to support his own weight, and looked at Voldemort.

"You think you're funny, do you? You have ruined my potion, which takes far too much time to prepare. The only reason you're still alive is I need you, though the same doesn't apply to your friends," he said with an evil grin. "We will do the potion again and you will stay with me until it is ready." He turned and looked at his servants.

"Kill them," he said pointing to Harry's friends.

"No!" Harry cried, but no one heard him. There was a flash of blinding light and everyone shielded their eyes.

When Harry's vision came back into focus he looked around to see Dumbledore standing next to him. He almost cried with relief! He looked over to Hermione and the others, and saw Sirius, McGonagall and Arthur Weasley freeing them from the partial body bind.

"How did you…?" Harry started.

"Not now, Harry. I will explain later." Dumbledore cut him off. He looked up at Voldemort who was staring back at him.

"You are a fool to come here old man. Now you will all die, and there will be no one left to stop me!" Voldemort said sounding quite smug.

Dumbledore did not reply but instead raised his wand at Voldemort; Harry's wand flew out from Voldemort's cloak and into Dumbledore's hand. He handed it to Harry then raised his wand again.

"Retrievo!" he spoke quickly and Harry felt a strange sensation come over him. Before he could say anything there was another blinding flash of light.

When the light faded again, Harry was shocked to see they were in Dumbledore's office. Harry barely had any time to think before he saw Ron running towards him.

"Harry!" Ron cried. "You're alive!" He stopped in front of him and they looked at each other awkwardly, then they embraced in a brotherly hug and backed away quickly.

"Where are the other's?" Harry asked looking around quickly. He noticed for the first time that everyone was there with him in the office. He ran over to Hermione and the others and asked if they were okay.

"Harry, are YOU okay?" Hermione asked.

"Never better!" Harry said, even though there was no part of him that was not in pain. He was too relieved that they were all alive to care.

"That was simply amazing the way you tricked them Harry!" Cho spoke up. Harry smiled at her and started to say something, but Dumbledore started speaking.

"I'm very glad that everyone is okay. I need you to tell us what happened earlier. We know some of it but we need to know everything." Everyone found a seat and Harry started telling about what had happened since Hermione woke him up earlier that day. He and Snape did most of the talking, as the others couldn't remember much of anything while they were under the control of the shapeshifters. Sirius did not look pleased about anything, but stayed silent. But when Harry explained how Snape had stopped Harry from getting him caught, his expression softened a little.

He continued on and told about waking in the graveyard and Snape being taken away. He wasn't sure how to explain about the baby rat though.

"It was like I just felt compelled to take it. Like I knew something was going to happen and I needed it. I don't know why I got that feeling though I'm glad for it now." He kept going and told how he got the idea to use the rat's blood at the last second and how it had affected Voldemort, and finished when everyone else arrived.

"So, how did you know how to find us?" Harry asked looking at Dumbledore.

"Well, it wasn't I who was responsible for that," Dumbledore answered. "It was Sirius."

Harry looked at Sirius in shock.

"How?" was all he could say.

"Remember that Christmas present I gave you?" he asked Harry

Harry thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out the pocket watch.

"Well, I didn't just give it to you because it belonged to your father. That watch has an everlasting enchantment on it. It's called a retrieval charm. You can use it to find it if you misplace it, or to bring yourself directly to where it is. But because it is a watch, it's all based on time."

"So how does it work then, how do you trace it?" Harry asked anxiously.

"When you saw me in the Shrieking Shack I was using the spell to find the watch. That's why when I pointed my wand at you, the tip changed color; you had the watch in your pocket. I knew you were there, but I had no way of knowing who else was, so I had no choice but to leave. The only option we had now was to bring ourselves directly to the watch and therefore, to you. Even if you were still in the shield at that time it would have worked. This unfortunately is something that can only be done when the time is 5:09am, and even then only for one minute. That's why we didn't come for you right away."

"So you used the watch to find me first, and then to bring yourself to me? How does that work? Do you apparate?"

"No it isn't apparating. Anyone who has the retrieval charm cast on them is transported, much the same way a portkey will do for you. I cast it on everyone before it was time, so we were all transported to you, then we cast it on all of you, so you were able to come back with us. We needed to be fast, though as we only had one minute to work with. The bright light you saw when we came gave us time to split up, unseen by anyone for a few seconds, Dumbledore stayed near you, while we freed the others."

Harry looked at him for a few moments trying to process all of what Sirius had just said. Then he heard Hermione's voice.

"Why 5:09am? What's so special about that time?"

Sirius smiled and looked at Hermione and then at Harry.

"That's when you were born, Harry. When you're mother gave this to your father it was an ordinary watch. They only enchanted it after you were born. It was something they had planned on giving you long ago, their own little precaution, so they would always be able to find you."

"Well it's a good thing they did or we'd all be dead right now," Hermione said.

"We'd still all be dead right now if Harry didn't come up with the idea to use that rat's blood," Lupin said.

"You saved all of their lives today, Harry, as well as your own," Dumbledore said then. "And as much as you're trying to hide it, I can see that you are still in a great deal of pain. I want you to go to the hospital wing, all of you need to be checked for that matter."

Harry knew he would be spending another night in the hospital wing, but didn't mind this time. He was still so shocked at how everything turned out that he was too happy to care. When he got to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey immediately made him change into pajamas and get into bed. She checked over the others but said they wouldn't need to stay. When Harry was the only one left, she got him a potion to let him sleep. He didn't think he would need the help though, as after all the events of the evening he was more than exhausted. He drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

As the last weeks of school flew by, Harry thought more about that night. Everything had happened so fast by the end, that it never fully hit him how close he really came to dying. Voldemort was still after him, for the same reason, and he had Mrs. Figg so Harry didn't even know if he was safe at the Dursley's anymore. It was very hard to put these things out of his mind for exams, but somehow he did it.

They also got the results from their O.W.L.S. as well. Harry and Ron both got 11 and Hermione got 14.

"That's even better than Percy," Ron told her. Hermione, for once, was speechless when she got the news and just beamed at Ron.

"Wow, this is a definite improvement," Harry said grinning at Hermione. She ignored him and went off to find others to share her wonderful news with. Whether they would be glad to hear it or not is another story.

They spent the week leading up to the feast just having fun. They played chess and exploding snap and practiced quidditch and just anything they could think of that wasn't work. Harry spent more time with Cho as well, and got to know her a little better. He felt much closer to her by the time the week was through.

The feast came much too quickly but it was much better than last years. Gryffindor had won again and their colors were hanging from banners throughout the great hall. And all too soon after, it was time to go home. Harry finally had to ask Dumbledore something he didn't want to think about.

"Is the Dursley's House still safe?" Harry asked from the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"We have reason to believe it is, for the moment. I do not intend on leaving you there for the entire holiday, other arrangements will be made as soon as possible. But for now it is still the safest place."

Harry didn't see how he could argue with this. At least he knew for certain it wouldn't be the entire summer. He said goodbye and then made his way down to where his friends where waiting for him, and they took carriages across to the Hogwart's Express.

The ride home went by very fast and Harry wished he could stay on the train forever. One difference about this ride was Malfoy and Co. didn't bother them at all, almost like they were avoiding them. Harry didn't dwell on it and was just happy for the change. When the train pulled into King's Cross, he had to force himself to get off.

He waved goodbye to Ron and Hermione, who promised to write as often as possible. Then followed his uncle, who was looking just as cross as ever, out to the car. He wouldn't let himself dwell on things that he could do nothing about, he would just have to wait and be as ready as possible, for whatever the future might bring.


End file.
